My Death Scythe
by Shizuka02
Summary: This fanfic is about Lysander and my OC Aria Hinamori. Its set in the Soul Eater world, and the main charactors from Soul Eater are a part of it, but this isn't about a relationship between dear ol' Lys and one of the S.E charactors, just to clear up any confusion. This is how Meister Aria came to meet her partner Lys, after her last partner fell into Maddness. Possibly LEMON!
1. Prologue: Mission, Start

Prologue:

The young girl sat down on the bed in her new apartment with a thud, her snow white, knee length hair that framed her porcelain face and was pulled into two high twin tails swept down, nearly touching the floor as her black-stocking clad legs dangled off the edge . She sighed as her ruby red eyes looked around at the bare-walled, scarcely furnished room. All that was in her room was a dresser, barely filled with clothes (having not been given enough time to pack, ugh), a twin sized bed, and a small nightstand with a blue reading lamp on it.

"Lord Death told me this was kind of short notice, but I didn't expect _this_." The girl muttered, thinking of how one day, she had been attending her regular classes at the DWMA (Death Weapon and Meister Academy), and trying to find a weapon to pair with (after her last partner, Riko had fallen victim to the madness wavelength), and the next, she had suddenly been asked by Lord Death to take part in a special mission.

The girl was to locate the Weapon who, according to Azusa, (one of the Grim Reaper's Death Scythes, who was amazingly clairvoyant), was currently living in the small town of Amoris, and take them as her new partner. The only thing she knew about the person in question, was that they were male, and around the same age as the snowy haired girl, making them around the age of 16.

The young girl yawned, laying back on the bed and stretching her arms outward, her small hands, encased in black lace wristlets, brushing the wall.

"Well," the red eyed girl half-sighed, "I better inform Lord Death that I've arrived." She said, sitting up and reaching for her backpack at the end of the bed. She unzipped the back pocket and rummaged around for a bit until finally pulling out a medium sized mirror.

The girl took a deep breath before exhaling onto the mirror, leaving its surface fogy.

"Alright, Just write in the Death Room's number." She said to herself. The girl then began writing numbers on the mirror's surface while saying, "Forty-two, Forty-two, Five-Sixty-four, whenever you want to knock on Death's door."

Just as she finished writing, the surface of the mirror rippled, like a drop of water slipping into a clam pool of liquid. The mirror glowed dimly for a moment, before and image appeared. What was on the surface or the mirror, was a dark, shadowed form, its face being covered by a mask that looked like a cartoon image of a human skull.

The shadowed figure spoke first, its voice surprisingly different from what you would expect the Grim Reaper to sound like, "Ah, Meister Aria-Chan, good to see ya! How ya doing?" Lord Death greeted exuberantly.

Aria ignored the usual greeting and said "Lord Death, I called to inform you that I've arrived in Amoris and will begin my search for the Weapon tomorrow." She stated somewhat nervously.

Lord Death seemed to be amused by what she said, but with the mask on the only way to tell was by the sound of his voice. "Now, now Aria-Chan, there's no need to be so formal!" he said.

Aria's face heated somewhat out of her own embarrassment, and she said "Err, uh okay."

The Reaper continued, "Getting down to business, I want you to start your search at the high school, Sweet Amoris High, after school hours and on weekends, I recommend that you search in other parts of the town for the Weapon. Oh and Remember, it's always important to rest every now and then, so take it easy every once in a while!"

And with that, Lord death ended the transmission and marked the starting point of Aria's mission.


	2. Chapter 1: Weapon's Betrayal

_Insanity hung in the air. All around me I could hear the suffering screams of people who didn't exist along with the panicked laughter of my comrade. Black flames consumed the decaying buildings of the abandoned city, piles of burnt rubble set aflame by the madness._

_I turned to see Riko, my Weapon partner, eyes wide with terror but still unable to stop the cruel laughter from escaping her mouth. She began to walk towards me, shadows looming at her heels, before she suddenly stopped less than a foot away from me._

_I'd had this dream before. No, more like a memory. The memory of when Riko fell into madness._

_A twisted grin swept its way onto Riko's face, and before I could notice, before I could react, Riko's arm had taken the form of a scythe blade, and my best friend, my comrade, slid three inches of the blade into my stomach._

I woke screaming from the dream of my memory, tears streaming down my face as I clutched my stomach, where a long, thin scar made almost a crescent along my abdomen. Though the wound was long healed, the memory of Riko's betrayal created a pain so fierce it would make the dead cry out in agony.

Taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself, I sat up on the twin bed in my room when it finally settled on me; today was the first day of my search for the Weapon.

I checked the time on my phone, 6 am. School starts at 8. Wonderful.

_I wonder what type of weapon it'll be._ I thought to myself as I got out of bed and made my way to the shower. After I turned off the water that begged me to stay, I got out of the shower, dried off and brushed my teeth. I shuffled slowly back to my room, opened the drawers in the dresser that held a pathetic amount of clothing, _I'll have to go shopping…_ and selected a black, slim fitting long sleeved dress that went down to a few inches above my knees and frilled out at the bottom, and dipped down in the front to reveal the chest of a white tube top, paired with a deep purple corset, thigh high black stockings with two white ribbons sewn onto the sides with a pair of white Victorian boots. When I was finished changing I pulled my snow-white hair into high twin tails and tied them with purple ribbons.

Once that was done, I went into the tiny kitchen of my apartment and looked in the fridge, expecting it to be empty. To my surprise it had all the stuff you'd expect to find in any other house. I looked in the first cupboard and decided that a bowl of cereal was all I was going to have time for. When I finished I left my bowl in the sink and walked out the door, headed toward Sweet Amoris High.

From my apartment complex, it was a fifteen minute walk to the high school, and I spent my time thinking, _when I find the Weapon, how am I going to tell them? If I don't explain it the right way, they'll think I'm nuts._ I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice when I walked right into someone who had stopped on the sidewalk. I was a little dazed and when I went to take a step back, my foot slipped and I let out a squeaky little '_kya_' and landed right on my butt.

"Ouch…sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I mumbled, gathering my bearings

"It's quite alright, but are you okay?" said deep silky voice. I looked up to meet a pair of amazing mismatched eyes, one golden and the other a forest green, which were slightly clouded with worry. The boy's pale face was framed by brilliant silver hair, longer on one side and dyed black at the tips. His clothing reminded me of the Victorian era, and as I quickly looked him over, I noticed he was _tall_. Especially compared to me, being 5'2. Then I thought, _Could HE be the Weapon?_ but no, if this guy was the Weapon, I would have been able to tell by using my Soul Perception, a way of telling different souls apart.

Then I realized I was staring like an idiot and said, "Oh, uhh yeah I'm fine. the only thing that's wounded is my pride." I said with an embarrassed smile and couldn't help blushing at my own stupidity.

His face seemed to relax and as he helped me up, he asked for my name, "it's Aria, and yours?" I asked and before I got the last word out the boy held up the hand that he pulled me off the ground by and kissed it.

"Lysander" he said as I blushed deeply. "are you headed towards the school, miss Aria?" I nodded, "then we can walk together."

It didn't make sense. Ever since I'd left the apartment this morning I had been using my Soul Perception to try and locate the weapon's soul wavelength, but for some reason I couldn't pick up anything. _Maybe I'm too far away from the weapon,_ I thought, _I'll have to take a look around the town after school._

When we arrived at the school there weren't many people standing outside, but a flash of red caught my eye. I turned and saw a guy with cherry red hair and a leather jacket standing alone in the courtyard. His hair kind of reminded me of Death Scythe's, Lord Death's Weapon. He looked angry just to be standing there, and I knew exactly what he felt. Even at the DWMA I preferred the training sessions over the normal courses that were still taught because, well, it was still a school. Lysander noticed him too because he turned and led me toward the red-head.

He noticed us and the red-head just smirked and looked from Lysander to me and spoke with a questioning tone in his voice, "I almost thought you weren't going to show up Ly, now I see you were distracted with _other_ things." He raised his eyebrows at me and I blushed when I figured out what he was implying.

Before I could get out a response, Lysander laughed and smoothly said, "This lovely lady is Aria. Aria, this is my friend Castiel."

Castiel looked me over as he said, "So? You knew here?"

Before I could respond, a short, elderly lady walked up to us and interrupted with, "Hello my dear! I am the principal here at Sweet Amoris. Might you be Aria Hinamori?"

"Uhh yea?" I said as more of a question.

The old woman smiled and said "well, then dear, I need you to see the student body president, Nathaniel, about your ID photo, after you're finished, come see me in my office." And with that the woman shuffled off towards the school.

Castiel looked annoyed at the sight of the principal and said, "Well, I guess that answers my question. Now you better run along short-stuff or Natty boy will hassle you about your ID photo."

I bristled slightly at _short-stuff_ and showed my annoyance slightly as I said, "fine, fine I'm going. And I'm not _that_ short!"

Castiel just raised his eyebrow at me as Lysander chuckled and said, "See you around Aria."

"Nice meeting you guys." I said as I rushed towards the main entrance of the school.

Just as I gripped the door handle, I felt one of my twin tails being pulled sharply. I turned to see a tall, almost fake-pretty blond girl flanked on either side by two sidekicks.

Her face pulled into a nasty sneer as she said, "Hey there you snowy-haired freak, where are you going?"


	3. Chapter 2: Discovered?

I sighed, already exasperated by the blonde's attitude, "Do you need something in particular? I'm kind of busy right now." I said curtly, eyeing the blond and her two followers.

"Watch it, freak. I saw you over there with my Castiel. What exactly did you think you were doing, trying to sabotage me?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. She spoke loud enough that Castiel and Lysander, who were still standing around in the courtyard, looked over. Lysander and Castiel started walking over, annoyance and a little bit of anger on their faces.

I gave her a confused look, saying, "Look, I have no freaking clue who you are, and to be honest, I could care less. Now if you'll excuse me…."

Just as I got the last words out, the blond raised her hand to slap me, as she shrieked, "Don't talk to me like that you little bitch!"

Lysander and Castiel were now running towards me to stop the blond, but were too far away. I caught the blond girl's hand easily as it was just inches away from my face. Apparently, she hadn't been expecting that, because she looked slightly taken aback. I flung Blondie's wrist back at her, causing her to stumble then fall over just as Lysander and Castiel reached us.

"Don't try that again, you got me? I'm not some pushover you can torment just because you think it's fun." I said as the blonde's sidekicks helped her to her feet.

Blondie was fuming when she stuck her finger in my face and said, "you're going to pay for this, I can make your life at this school a living hell!" then she stomped off, leaving me with Lysander and Castiel, who looked faintly shocked.

Castiel was the first to speak, "I'm surprised you didn't hit her." He said, chuckling.

I shook my head. "Starting a fight over that would have been meaningless." I muttered, slightly annoyed. "Well, I should get going to see what's-his-name." I sighed, and then asked, "Could you guys show me where the student council room is?"

Lysander nodded, "right this way." He said as he opened the door and led me through the hallways.

I noticed the Castiel had disappeared and when I asked Lysander, he just said that Castiel and the student body president -who I now knew was Nathaniel- had a bit of a 'problem' with each other.

We stopped in front of a door that read _student council_ and I turned to Lysander and said my thanks, and he turned to leave but stopped before walking away. He smiled warmly and a bit shyly as he said, "If you need help with anything else, just ask, okay?"

I smiled a friendly smile back and said, "Will do, and thanks again." Then I opened the door to the student council room and walked in to see a young man with golden hair matched with his golden eyes. I began using my soul perception to find his Wavelength, but no such luck.

He looked up from the giant stack of papers on his desk and said, "Hello, would you happen to be a new student here?" When I nodded he got up and opened a file cabinet while asking, "Name?"

"Aria Hinamori." I mumbled.

The boy pulled out a folder and leafed through it while saying, "It's nice to meet you, Aria. I'm the student body president, Nathaniel. It seems the only thing you're missing from your file is an ID photo." He looked up just as I pulled my photo out of my purse and handed it to him.

He smiled and went on about classes and how I'd like the school and what not while I just nodded, waiting for him to finish so I could search for the Weapon.

I walked out of the student council room remembering that I had to go see the principal. I looked around for a while until I found her office, and when I knocked on the door I heard barking. _huh? The hell?_ I opened the door to be attacked by a ball of white fluff, which turned out to be a little dog that some women like to suffocate in their purses.

I caught the dog on reflex, just as the principal shuffled up to me saying, "oh my poor little Kiki! You must have been frightened!" the principal strode back into her room with her dog, motioning for me to follow.

"Now then," said the old woman, handing me a sheet of paper. "I understand that you are the student sent here by the DWMA. While I will not pry into the matter as to why you're here, you are expected to follow the rules like any other student." She said curtly. "Also, you have been excused from having to participate in cIub activities, as requested by the Academy."

I was kind of surprised really, that the academy had told the school administration that they would be sending someone.

I looked closely and found that on the sheet of paper was my class schedule. _useless_ my mind said, _why do I have to take classes if I'm not ACTUALY a student here? I'm only here to find the Weapon_. I thought this but said nothing, I was just frustrated because I couldn't seem to detect the Weapon's wavelength.

I nodded in response to what the principal had said, ignoring the fact that she sounded half hateful and half fearful when she spoke to me.

"Alright then, you may now go to your next class. And don't be late." She said, waving me away.

As I exited the office I saw Castiel sitting on a chair right outside the door and froze as I heard it click shut. _Oh .My. God. Could he have heard that entire conversation?_ None of the students were supposed to know I was here on behalf of the academy. I had no clue whether or not I should say something, so I just stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds before walking the few paces to where he sat.

"Hey, Castiel, right?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, that's me. So, you get in trouble already, short-stuff?" He said with a smirk.

He used 'short-stuff' again. I really hope this wasn't going to be a new nickname for me here, even if I was only staying temporarily. "no, just getting hassled about my classes. What about you? I'm pretty sure you're not just here to visit the dear, sweet principal, are you?" I inquired, sarcastically.

He laughed at that, looking at me curiously. "Nah, I got caught smoking again so I suspect I'm just waiting here to be chewed-out."

Just then the principal opened the door and looked out, seeing me with Castiel. "Miss Hinamori, I thought I told you to go to your next class. Go, now. Castiel, please come in and take a seat." She said unhappily.

I nodded then waved good-bye to Castiel, he just waved without looking back then sauntered into the principal's office.

My first class was English, room 102. On my way there I thought to myself, _If Castiel knows, how will I get him to keep quiet? He doesn't seem like the type to just give out of the 'goodness' in his heart._

I'll have to negotiate. But how?


	4. Chapter 3: The Scarlet Haired Meister

English passed by uneventfully. In my next class, math, I met a pretty girl named Iris, who had bright orange hair pulled into a braid and emerald green eyes. "Hey, I'm Iris, you're the girl who stood up to Amber aren't you?" she started with, coming up to my desk.

"Uhh nice to meet you… I'm Aria. And who is Amber? Oh wait, you mean that blond chick with the bad attitude?" I asked and Iris nodded.

"Usually _no one _ is brave enough to deal with her. I seriously thought she was going to have meltdown." Iris said giggling.

For the rest of class iris and I chatted quietly, with me asking tons of questions about the town, like where people normally hangout. _well, asking questions is the best way to gather information._ My mind mocked me. It seemed like the park was where most people spend their time when it was nice out, so I decided that I would begin my search there.

When lunch began I walked outside into the courtyard, no one seemed to be around so I decided to sit in the grass underneath a giant oak tree. I sat there, staring at the cloudless blue sky, thinking about nothing of particular interest when shadow loomed over me and a voice behind me sang, "I know your sec_ret_!"

I jumped out of surprise and turned to see Castiel, smirking and towering over me. _Oh , Shit_

"what?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Please, I'm not an idiot. The walls in this school are pretty thin." He said mysteriously. When I looked at him with a puzzled expression, he sighed and continued., " I heard your, conversation with the principal. I know you're from the DWMA."

_So he DID hear it. D*mn. Well, denying it won't do any good._ I thought to myself. "So? What of it?" I said defensively, setting a scowl on my face.

"so, what I want to know is why a student from the DWMA is here in Amoris." The Red-headed nuisance said, eyeing me carefully.

"That doesn't concern you, Castiel." I stated warningly.

"it does if you don't want me telling anyone."

_I guess I've got no choice_ I sighed. "Fine. but if you tell _anybody_, you're dead. You got me?"

"Don't worry I won't . I'm just curious that's all." He said, triumphant.

"Yeah whatever. Anyways, I was sent here because there's a possibility of a Weapon living in this town. It's my job to find them and make them my new partner, okay? Happy now?"

Castiel's face looked somewhat close to shocked. "No fucking way!" he said, sitting next to me on the grass. "who is it?"

"if I knew that, I wouldn't still be here would I?" I said.

"How can you tell if someone's a Weapon? I mean, don't they look like regular people?" he asked. Jeez , I was starting to get uncomfortable with this. I shouldn't be telling him any of this.

_Sigh, oh well._ "Meisters can use an ability that allows them to differentiate between souls, called Soul Perception."

He looked at me like I was one of the eight wonders of the world. "so? Could I be the Weapon?"

I shook my head, "No, I already searched for your soul wavelength when I first met you. You're human." I said, laughing at his disappointed expression.

He was about to say something else when the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. I stood and was about to walk into the school when Castiel said something I _really_ wasn't expecting.

"I'll help you." He said, and I stared at him like he just admitted he was actually a girl.

"What?" I asked, completely shocked. I could tell from the character of his Soul Wavelength that he wasn't exactly the 'generous' type.

"You heard me, Short-stuff. I'll help you find the Weapon. It could be interesting." He smirked.

"And how do you suppose you're going to do that? You can't even use Soul Perception." I asked, regaining my composure.

"You can teach me." he said, as if that would have been obvious to anyone else.

"What makes you think I'm going to do that?"

He just continued to smirk, saying, "Oh? And here I thought you would have been dying to spend more time with me."

I shook my head to clear my confused thoughts, "why do you even want to help me anyways?" I asked, sceptical.

-Castiel's POV-

"I want to become a Meister." I said, my face suddenly turning serious. "If you teach me how to use Soul Perception, I'll help you find the Weapon."

I expected her to be shocked, but instead she just raised a snowy-white eyebrow at me as she said, "Being a Meister isn't all glory you know. It's dangerous, you could get yourself killed."

My annoyance flickered. Of course I knew that. But it was a Kishin Soul that killed my parents, and I wanted revenge. Not only that, I wanted to be sure no one else had to go through that sort of thing.

"I know." I said, keeping my voice level. "I don't want to become a Meister for fame, or something as stupid as that."

Aria crossed her arms and looked at me with a quizzical expression. Finally she spoke, "and you're sure about this? You won't get scared and turn back, will you?"

"No. I've already made my decision."

She sighed, looking slightly defeated, and hope started to rise in my chest.

"Fine," she said, "I'll teach you how to use Soul Perception. In return, you have to help me look for the Weapon. Once I've found them, I'll take you back with me to the academy so you can become a Weapon Meister."

-Aria's POV-

_This is gonna be a real pain in the ass_ I thought to myself as Castiel and I parted ways, him going to do who-knows-what, and me trudging off to class, late. Again.

I walked into the science classroom, relieved that the teacher seemed to be later than I was, and saw a familiar head of silver. Lysander was sitting at the back of the room, gazing out the window.

I walked over and sat in the desk beside his. "Hey," I said with a small smile.

He looked over at me, slightly startled at first, but then a warm smiled spread across his face. "A little late aren't you? Lunch ended fifteen minutes ago." He said, amused.

I felt my cheeks heat as I said, "I guess I got a little lost." He seemed to believe me, as he didn't press the matter.

All of a sudden, the teacher decided to show up and our conversation ended as the he began writing notes on the board. _Lysander's not so bad,_ I mused internally, _he's a lot friendlier than Castiel. Maybe-_ then I cut off my own thoughts. I was about to think, _'maybe I could trust him with the reason I'm here'_. What was I thinking!? Just Because ONE person _accidentally_ found out, now I'm thinking about telling someone else!?

_I need to stay focused. Lysander will never know why I'm here, that's the end of it. Still… with him as a friend, maybe my stay here won't so bad._


	5. Chapter 4: Recognizing Sorrow

A/N: Sorry I haven't posted in a while guys! ^^ I had to deal with some... stuff. Anywho, I'll be posting chapters 4-17 tonight =^w^=

School ended and I decided to walk around the rest of the town in search of the Weapon. On my way out of the school's shiny glass doors, I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder, pulling me back inside. I turned, expecting it to be Blondie, but instead was greeted by the ever-smirking face of Castiel.  
"Whoa, hold on there, short-stuff. Forgetting something?" he said, raising one eyebrow.  
Ignoring the annoying nickname, I said, "Forgetting what?"  
He stepped a little closer and lowered his voice, so as not to be heard, "you said that you'd teach me Soul Perception, remember?"  
"Calm down, I remembered, don't worry. There's just something I have to do before I start teaching you. We'll start tomorrow; I'll be ready by then, okay?"  
He looked annoyed and more than a little impatient as he spoke, "fine, yeah I got it. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he walked off.

The truth was, teaching someone how to use Soul Perception didn't require anything that special, I just wanted time to make myself familiar with the town. So, twenty minutes later, I was strolling through the town, trying to detect any Soul Wavelengths that stood out from the rest. After three hours of searching, I decided that I needed to rest. If I exhaust my soul any further, it could cause permanent damage. So, keeping in mind that I only had three days' worth of clothing at home, I made my way to the clothing store.  
I walked in and saw two guys, one a stranger with ebony hair and onyx eyes. The other, more familiar. Lysander, with his captivating mismatched gaze, and silver hair. I walked over and greeted Lysander, who smiled warmly and said, "Hey Aria. This is my brother, Leigh. He owns the store."  
"Nice to meet you, are you are friend of my brother's?" Leigh asked.  
I smiled a friendly smile and said, " It's nice to meet you too, I'm Aria, I just moved here recently."  
"Oh, well I guess you're here for a reason then, are you looking for anything in particular?" he asked.  
I laughed, saying, "Well... a lot of my clothes were lost during the move and so, here I am"  
For the next hour or so I wandered the shop, with Leigh helping me pick out clothes and Lysander chatting with me about where I lived before Amoris. Of course, I had to give him the made-up version, which made me feel a little guilty.  
In the end I purchased, a few corsets, some tops, a lace-up dress, some skirts and five pairs of jeans with the money I was given by the Academy for my mission. I finally left the store, waving good-bye to Lysander and Leigh, and off to my apartment with, a shit-load of bags.

The rest of the week went by quickly, the next day after my first day of school, Castiel came over to my under-furnished apartment and I began to teach him Soul Perception. To my surprise, he learned more quickly than I thought he would, after only two days, he could pick up the faintest hint of my Soul Wavelength.  
To explain the training, first I had him recognize his own soul Wavelength, to feel the depths of his soul. As for detecting other Soul Wavelengths, it went from him trying to find mine when I was only a few feet away, to playing a game similar to hide-and-seek. He would start in the living room, and I would hide somewhere else in the apartment, when he was sure that he could find what part of the house I was in by finding my Wavelength, he could look for me, but if he was wrong, he had to run a lap around the neighbourhood.  
Training was every second day, so that I could have time to myself, and time to search for the Weapon. During school hours, I took every opportunity I could to look for soul Wavelengths, slipping out of class to roam the halls, focusing on my Search. Except, during lunch hours, Lysander and Castiel always seemed to have a reason to pull me aside, then succeeded in distracting me, so I often spent my lunches with them sitting and laughing in the courtyard.  
Today was one of my days off from training with Castiel, and so I began to wander around town, looking for a place to concentrate on my Soul Perception.  
I finally found one, a small patch of grass between two incredibly tall trees, it wasn't exactly hidden, but it wasn't way out in the open, either. I sat down, leaning against one of the trees, closed my eyes, and began to concentrate when I felt something strange. It was sort of like the feeling you get when you're dreaming, and you're trying to run towards something but you seem to get slower and slower. _Blocked, suffocated, confused._ I opened my eyes, gasping. _Air, I need air._ I thought to myself, which was kind of silly considering I was outside  
I finally settled down when I heard footsteps coming from the left. I looked up and saw Lysander, walking towards me.  
-Lysander's POV-  
I had been feeling restless lately. Almost as if something was missing. I could feel it in the center of my being, an absence of something, a vacant feeling.  
I sat behind the counter at my brother, Leigh's store, trying to write in my notebook, but coming up with nothing and ending up feeling frustrated. I sighed, giving up and putting my notebook back into my bag.  
"I'll be out for a bit." I said to my brother who was talking to his girlfriend, Rosalya, on the phone. He just nodded and waved as I walked out the door.  
For a while, I just wandered the streets aimlessly, until I wound up at the park. It was one of my favourite places in this little town with next to nothing in it. _Maybe I can get some writing done here,_ I thought. I walked over to find my favourite spot, taken. I was about to leave when I saw who it was. The new girl, Aria, was sitting under one of the two enormous trees, looking somewhat panicked about something. Before my mind registered it, I found myself walking towards her. Almost as if she had heard me coming, she quickly looked up, surprised.  
Her startled face quickly melted into a warm smile as she greeted me, "Hey, Lys"  
"Hey, you okay? You look a bit… worried." I said, a little concerned.  
She shook her head, "Nah its fine, nothing I can't handle. So anyway, what are you doing here?" she asked.  
"Oh I just needed some air, I figured I'd come here for a while. What about you?" I said, sitting down beside her.  
"I wanted to take a look around the town, then I found this spot and decided to stay a while"  
"Oh" I said, not sure what to say next.  
We sat in comfortable silence for a while, and I snuck a look at her from the corner of my eyes. She looked tiny and fragile, her long, white hair fanning around her where she sat. She admired the scenery with intense red eyes, the color reminding me of blood. I suddenly had the urge to start writing again, and took out my notebook.  
I had written a few lines when she suddenly spoke up, " what's that?" she asked, pointing a slender finger at my notebook.  
"Oh, this is just my notebook, I keep all my songs and poetry in here." I said, my face heating somewhat, though I wasn't sure why.  
She looked at me, curiosity in her crimson eyes. "Do you sing?" she asked  
-Aria's POV-  
"Yeah, I'm actually in a band with Castiel. Do you play any instruments?" he inquired.  
"Well, I play guitar and I sing sometimes, but I haven't for a while." I answered. Actually, I hadn't even picked up my guitar since Riko had left.  
"Why not?" He asked, curious.  
I just shrugged, "I never really felt up to it," I said, turning my face away, "not since, Riko…"  
"Since what? Who is Riko?" Lysander asked me, his voice serious.  
_Son of a mother duck_ I cursed myself. I hadn't meant to say that last part. I'd meant to keep quiet about all aspects of my life in Death City.  
"It's not important." I said blandly, looking at my all too interesting hands.  
Lysander took my shoulders and gently turned me so that I was facing him. " I think it is. Tell me Aria, its okay." He said gently.  
I sighed, _I suppose I can leave out the madness and doom part_.  
So I started explaining, leaving out all the parts about the DWMA and the Madness Wavelength. "Riko, was my best friend, we went to the same school together before I came here. But… something happened and now she's left our home. I tried to stop her but she-"  
I stopped, realizing that tears had started to pool in my eyes. I never really talked to anyone about Riko, and even if it was only part of what happened, it still felt good to get it all out.  
Lysander was watching me with a pained expression, and suddenly I was in his arms, his voice in my ear, "You don't have to say it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push the subject." He said, holding me tight.  
It was all too much, after so much time of pushing back my sadness, of pretending like Riko's betrayal didn't shatter my soul, I'd finally reached my limit. I wrapped my arms around Lysander's waist and buried my face in his chest, pouring out all of my fear and sorrow as tears flowed freely down my cheeks.  
"Shh" he soothed as he rubbed my back, trying to calm me down.  
"I-I'm *hic* sorry..." I sobbed, feeling guilty that he'd had to deal with me when we'd only just met a few days ago.  
"Shh… it's alright." He said, resting his hand on my head.  
-Lysander's POV-  
I just sat there with her, trying in any way that I could to comfort her. I felt so useless, only being able to hold her as she cried. But, sitting there with her so close, the vacant part of me started to feel a little less empty, the absent feeling coming close to being whole.  
Soon her sobs quieted, and we just stayed there like that for a while, comforted by each other's presence. She looked up at me, and one last tear slipped down her porcelain face. I wiped it away and she sighed, blushing.  
"Thanks Lys" she said, still blushing. She looked really cute when she did that.  
I smiled at her, "no problem, Aria. Anytime"  
-Aria's POV-  
When I finally calmed myself, I realized I had a pounding headache from crying so much. I looked up at Lysander, who gazed back at me, worried. I felt a tear leave a hot trail down my cheek, and Lysander wiped it away, which made me blush slightly.  
"Thanks Lys" I said.  
He smiled gently at me, saying "No problem, Aria. Anytime."  
Then he hugged me again, his arms wrapping tightly around my shoulders, and then, so softly that I almost didn't feel it, he leaned in and kissed my forehead.  
He released me and stood, offering me his hand. He pulled me up off the ground as he said, " I'll walk you home, it getting pretty late"  
I could have pointed out that I was a Meister, and even without a weapon I could still defend myself, but that would have ended with me have to tell him everything, and I liked having him close. So, still holding his hand, I let Lysander walk me home.  
When we arrived at my apartment, Lysander and I said our good-byes, and I walked up the stairs into my room and got ready for bed.  
I lie down on my mattress and sink into a familiar night-mare, of laughter, blood, and betrayal.


	6. Chapter 5: Chasing the Wavelength

When I woke up the next morning I felt… different. I wasn't sure what had changed, but I felt off. I shrugged it off and went through my morning routine, shower, change, eat, and then leave for school. However, I felt as if searching at the school was becoming pointless. It was Friday, four days since I was enrolled at Sweet Amoris high and so far, I've come up with nothing.

I was considering skipping to look around town as I was just walking out the front door, when that restless feeling I'd woken up with suddenly exploded out through my entire body. My legs felt shaky, so I sat on the concrete steps in front of my apartment, and that's when I recognised this feeling. It was a Soul Wavelength, a powerful one. Not only that, but this particular Wavelength was that of a Weapon.

When this knowledge came to my mind, my legs stopped shaking almost instantly. I took a deep breath as I stood up on the steps. Then, my muscles contracted and I launched myself off the steps, landing ten feet away then sprinting towards the direction of the Wavelength.

This Wavelength almost felt familiar, when I tried to picture in my mind the shape of this soul, I saw a scythe. This scythe however, was different from Riko's form. Where Riko's blade curved outward at the end, this one's curved inward, forming a deadly tip. Where the blade connected to the staff, on the other side was a double-sided edge, and just above it, three black spikes were connected by a half circle. Though the colors were a bit hazy, I could still see the shape of the scythe because it's very presence stood out and made the rest of the world fade to black.

After only a few seconds of running, I realized the source of the Wavelength was coming from the school. _I guess I'm not skipping today then._ I laughed internally.

Finally, the school was in sight, I could see students strewn about the property, chatting among themselves. Lys and Castiel were in their usual spot standing a few feet from the school gates, probably talking about music. With the school within reach, I sped up, eager to find the source of the Wavelength.

When I took my first step through the gate however, the wavelength suddenly just disappeared without a trace. It was gone, leaving an absence that seemed to suck the color out of everything. The aftershock of the Wavelength's presence disoriented me. The space it left making my legs just suddenly stop moving, causing the momentum I had built up to trip me, ending with me landing facedown, head throbbing from the impact with the ground.

I rolled over onto my back, reaching up to feel where my forehead had attacked the ground. I winced at the sharp pain it caused and when I pulled my hand back, blood dripped down my fingers. _Fuck my life_.

Just then, I saw two figures standing above me, and when my eyesight focused, I saw that it was Lysander and Castiel. Lysander's eyes held shock and worry, whereas Castiel seemed worried, it also looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Wha… the fuck..." I said, though it sounded slightly slurred. I tried sitting up, but when I did, everything seemed to sway and I would have fallen over if Lysander hadn't caught my shoulders.

"Aria, what the hell happened? Are you okay?" that was Lysander… I think.

I looked over at him and my vision cleared somewhat, so I tried speaking, "uhh yeah. I think I'm okay… I don't know how that happened, I was running, and then…" I trailed off, wondering how the wavelength could have just disappeared like that. Although thankfully, I wasn't slurring anymore, and my voice was a lot clearer.

Then I remembered that Castiel was there too and I looked over at him, the humour was out of his face now and he looked perplexed about something. I was about to ask, but when I opened my mouth to speak, he shook his head.

Lysander sighed, seeming relieved then said, "Let's get you inside. If you haven't noticed, you're bleeding, _a lot_." Then some of the worry crept back onto his face as he looked over the cut on my forehead.

I nodded, and then Lysander pulled me up off the ground and led me inside, sneaking glances at me to make sure I wouldn't fall over. I ignored the stares and whispers as we walked through the halls.

Behind me, I faintly heard Amber call "Aw! Did the poor baby fall down?"

Lysander tightened his grip on my shoulders and walked faster. I assumed that meant he thought I would fight back. He was right, I was sick of dealing with Amber's sh*t all the time. So, after slipping out of Lysander's grip, I walked up to Amber and got right into her face.

"What'd you say?" I asked, my voice turning to cold steel.

Amber sneered at me, "What? Didn't you hear me? Or did that fall mess with you hearing?" she cackled. "Or maybe you did it for Lysander's attention."

My rage exploded. "That's it!" I snarled.

When I tried to lunge at her however, someone caught me around the waist. I looked back, it was Lysander.

He looked at me seriously, his eyes piercing mine. I was surprised, even though I was small, I should have been strong enough to break out of his hold.

I sighed, my anger fading "Sorry." I said to him.

He nodded and we were about to leave when Amber shouted, "You'd better be sorry you filthy little bitch!"

I just ignored her this time, letting Ly lead me to the first-aid room.

When we reached the first-aid room, no one was there so Lysander sat me down onto a chair and began rummaging through random cupboards and drawers.

"What are you doing?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. When I did, pain shot through my skull and I lowered it again.

He pulled a cloth out of a drawer, wet it in the little sink, and turned to me. "I have to clean that cut." He pointed at my forehead. "There's too much dirt in it, you can't do it by yourself." He said, and then began cleaning the already dried blood off my face before moving onto my forehead.

I just sat there, looking at my hands while he gently cleaned the dirt out of the cut. Then came the antiseptic.

"No way." I said, looking fearfully at the bottle of disinfectant like a big wimp.

Lysander sighed, and tried to reason with me. After a few proclamations on how I'd rather die than use that stuff and Lysander telling me that if I don't, it'll get infected, I reluctantly agreed. When the cotton ball soaked with that acid-like liquid hit my flesh, I winced and bit my lip, but was otherwise silent. Thought to be perfectly honest, the only thing keeping me from squealing like a little kid was the iron grip I had on Lysander's wrist.

Finally the burning sensation left as Lysander taped some gauze onto my forehead. I sighed in relief that it was over. _ I'm such a pansy, _ I thought to myself.

Lysander was putting away all the supplies then turned to me, a small smile on his pale face. "Better?" he asked.

I laughed "Yeah, thanks Ly. And sorry for kind of acting like a brat."  
"It's alright, but can I ask, why did you trip in the first place?" he inquired, curiously.

I stiffened. _I can't tell him!_ I anguished. I felt myself blush as I said with a small laugh, "oh, I don't really know. I guess I was just distracted and tripped over my own feet."

I _knew_ he wasn't going to believe me. Who would? I looked up and saw that he was studying me curiously. After a long beat of silence, he sighed and shrugged, looking sort of defeated.

"Alright. I'll see you in class, Aria." He said, then turned and left just as the bell rang for class.

I sighed, feeling even worse. For some reason, lying to Lysander made me feel sick. I wondered what his reaction would be if I told him the truth. Would he hate me?

_Only one way to find out._


	7. Chapter 6: The Witch

All through English, I considered all the positives and negatives of telling Lysander the truth.  
Cons:  
Risk of getting 'Reaper Chopped' by Lord Death, getting kicked out of the Academy, and risk of Lysander hating my guts and never speaking to me again.  
Pros: No more guilty conscience.  
Well, the possible negatives definitely outweighed the positives, but my instinct told me- no, more like screamed at me- that telling Lysander the truth was the best choice.  
-Later-  
My heart was pounding, my head felt light, and my palms were kind of clammy, _ew_, as I walked into the science room. Lysander was sitting in his usual spot, gazing out the window. I sat down in my desk beside him and he looked over at me with a small smile._ Maybe he's not mad at me._  
I smiled back at him. "Hey, Lys" I started, "I was wo-" before I could get the words out, I was cut off as the teacher came into the classroom and started rambling on about something-or-other.  
Frustrated, I tore a sheet of paper out of my notebook and quickly wrote:  
_I was wondering if I could talk to you after school._  
When I finished, I folded the paper and placed it on Lysander's desk when I thought the teacher wasn't looking. When I did, he looked at me curiously before turning his attention to the note. After a few seconds of writing, he passed the note back.  
_Sure, where?_  
Good question. It had to be somewhere that nobody could listen in.  
_The park?_  
Lysander agreed that he would meet me there after he dropped off his things at home. For the rest of class, I concentrated on pretending to listen to the lecture, while my gut was twisting with anticipation and nervousness.  
-Lysander's POV-  
I knew exactly when she walked into class, though to keep from staring I switched my gaze to the window. She looked tiny and fragile and I was still kind of worried about the cut on her forehead, though Castiel assured me that someone like her could take a lot more damage than that.  
When she sat down at the desk beside mine I turned and gave her a small smile. She returned it and said "hey Lys, I was wo-" but she was cut off when the teacher came in and started his lecture.  
She let out a small, frustrated sigh and took a sheet of paper out of her notebook. Assuming that she was writing notes, I focused my attention on the lesson. Suddenly, a folded piece of paper landed on my desk. I looked at Aria, the one who placed it there, curiously then un folded the note.  
_I was wondering if I could talk to you after school._ it said.  
Was this about what Castiel had told me? I quickly wrote a response:  
_Sure, where?_  
Aria paused for a moment, thinking.  
_The park?_ she wrote.  
I agreed, but I had to stop at home first to drop off my things, and because Leigh would worry if I went somewhere without telling him. He was like that a lot, but I didn't blame him we had no other family, so we'd been living alone since I was twelve.  
For the rest of class I watched the teacher without really paying attention to what he was saying, I was too anxious about what aria wanted to tell me.  
-

-Aria's POV-  
It wasn't until the last bell had rung that I remembered that today I had training with Castiel. We usually walked to my place right after school, so all I had to do was wait for him by the doors.  
"Hey, short-stuff. So, what are we doing today? More hide and seek? I was thinking we could play tag this time." Castiel said, coming up behind me with his ever-present smirk.  
I sighed, some of my annoyance surfacing. "Sorry Castiel. Practise is going to have to wait. There's something important I need to do. I'll need you to come by around six, okay?"  
He didn't even seem mad. Usually he was way too impatient when it came to training. "Fine fine, I got it. I'll see you at six." Then he walked off in the direction of his house, a devious smile on his face.  
_He'd better not be planning something, or he going to have to do ten laps around the neighbourhood._ I thought as I walked towards the park.

Thirty minutes later I was sitting under the tree where I had sat with Lysander. I was staring off into space, not paying attention so when I felt someone tap my shoulder, I let out a little squeak of surprise and turned around to meet Lysander's mismatched eyes.  
"Sorry, I thought you would have heard me." Lysander said, chuckling at my expression.  
_How did he move so quietly?_ "It's alright." I said with a nervous laugh. _Man, this isn't going to be easy._  
"So what did you want to talk about?" Lysander asked, sitting down beside me.  
"Well, first I have a question." I had a bad habit of fidgeting my sleeves when I was nervous, and right now, it was as if they were the most interesting things I had seen in my life.  
"Okay, go ahead." He urged me to continue.  
"We're friends right? I mean I know I've only been here for a while, but do you trust me?"  
I looked up at him and saw something like sadness flash across his face, but it was soon replaced by a half-smile. "That's two questions." He said.  
"The answers would mean the same thing." I said, knowing that he was stalling.  
He sighed, "Yes you're my friend, and yes, I trust you. Now what did you want to talk about?"  
My heart was beating so loudly I swear he could hear it. "Do you promise you won't get mad?"  
"That depends." He said  
I let out a long, frustrated sigh. "I seriously don't know how to explain this." I mumbled, more to myself than to him. "Lysander, what do you know about the DWMA?"  
Lysander paused before answering, "Well I know that it's an academy where Weapons and Meisters are trained to fight, right?"  
I nodded. "do you know why Meisters and Weapons fight?" I asked.  
"Something about keeping balance between souls, isn't it?"  
"It goes deeper than that. The Academy was created by the Grim Reaper, to hunt, and prevent the creation of Kishin Souls." I said, remembering the speech Lord Death had given at the entrance ceremony.  
"Kishin Souls?" Lysander inquired.  
"They are creatures, demons that are created by devouring innocent human souls in order to gain power." I said.  
"How do you know all of this?" Lysander's face was serious, but I could see curiosity in his eyes.  
I swallowed, "Well, that's because…" I trailed off. Was I really going to tell him?  
"It's Because Aria-Chan is a Meister!" called a voice behind us.  
Both of us turned around. There, suspended in air was a woman. Her hair was the color of emeralds and her eyes were as dark as the night sky. She wore a long, deep blue skirt that ended at her feet, and wrappings that covered her torso, arms, and covered from her nose down, concealing most of her face.  
I stared at her in shock. How did she know me? and how was she just hanging in air like that? I searched for her soul wavelength, but felt nothing. When I searched other people for the Weapon's wavelength, it was just normal. From this woman, I felt nothing. Then I realized it. _Soul Protection. She's disguised her Wavelength. No way. This can't be happening. I haven't found the Weapon yet, how am I supposed to win against HER?_  
Lysander looked at me and said, "Aria? Who is this woman? How is she doing that?"  
I looked at Lysander, pain twisting my chest, knowing that I had dragged him into this. _No matter what, I won't let him die here. I'll hold her off as Long as I can for him to get away. After all, it's the DWMA's duty to Protect innocent souls._  
I steadied myself, and took a deep breath before answering him. "She's a Witch."


	8. Chapter 7: The Wavelength that Called Me

I was preparing myself for the fight, if I was going to fight her with just using my Soul Wavelength to attack, I would have to strike before she did. Luckily, she was still using Soul Protect, so she couldn't use magic until she undid it.  
"Oh my," the Witch said. "This little girl is perceptive. You figured out that I'm a Witch even when I'm still using Soul Protect." Then she looked down at Lysander, who was glaring at her. "Then again, maybe not so much." She said, laughing.  
This made me angry. "What are you talking about?" I questioned.  
"What? You mean you didn't notice then?" she said, still laughing. "I casted Soul Protect on the Weapon's Soul Wavelength so that you couldn't be able to find it."  
"And what would be the reason for doing that? What do you have to gain?" I asked, enraged but still trying to think clearly.  
"You really don't know do you? Heh, the DWMA must really be slipping these days." she laughed. "It was an order I was given by the Kishin."  
"Kishin? What are you talking about? The Kishin was already defeated." I said.  
"I'm not talking about the Kishin, Asura. This is a _new_ Kishin, one that's much more powerful than the last."  
"You're lying!" I shouted in disbelief.  
The Witch began to laugh even harder now. "Oh but I'm not!"  
Her laugh reminded me of Riko's. Not her normal laugh, but the cruel cackles that poured out of her mouth the night that she fell into Madness. My anger spiked, I couldn't stop myself. Lysander had been listening to our conversation with such an intensity that he didn't even notice that I had pushed him until he landed a few feet away, slightly out of danger for the moment.  
I backed up to take a running start, then I pushed off the ground, flying up until I reached a large tree branch halfway up the trunk. From there I pushed off again, propelled towards the Witch. I heard her chanting something, trying to undo the Soul Protect but it was too late. I'd already gathered enough energy from my Soul Wavelength, so when I hit her in the ribs, she jolted like an electric shock had been sent through her body. Unfortunately, the Witch had managed to finish the chant just before I'd hit her.  
Another incantation, this one for an attack. Suddenly, shadows appeared and took the form of knives. I managed to dodge most of them but while I tried to find a safe place to land, one of the shadows flew past, its dark blade skimming my leg. Pain stabbed into my leg as I landed back onto the ground, but I ignored it.  
I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with her, not without a Weapon. But I wasn't going to give up, either.  
I let out a small laugh, "So you're a shadow user then?"  
"That's right. My shadows can take any form I choose. But I have to say, I'm impressed, your pretty fast, you were even able to land an attack on me." she said, arrogance seething in her tone.  
"Let's just get this over with." I said, readying myself for another attack.  
"Whoa, hold on there, little girl." Said the Witch "The Kishin ordered me not to kill you. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to hurt anyone in this stupid little town."  
"What?"  
"This is how the Kishin decided to announce its existence in this world. It wanted to be heard, and what better way than to send a Witch? We're one of the DWMA's most bitter enemies." the Witch said. "Now then, since my job here is done, I'm afraid I must be going now."  
The Witch turned to leave, and I jumped upwards again, launching myself at her.  
"No you don't!" I shouted.  
When I was just a few feet away, a door opened out of thin air and the Witch disappeared.

A new Kishin? No, that's impossible. If another Kishin had been created, the DWMA would surely know about it. The Madness Wavelength emitted by the Kishin would have made it obvious. Unless- _unless the Kishin isn't complete yet. If it hasn't devoured enough souls, it wouldn't be powerful enough to call itself an actual Kishin._  
"Dammit. I can't even find her Wavelength now." I cursed, glaring at the empty sky where the Witch had disappeared.  
_Wait, Wavelength… she said that she'd casted Soul Protect on the Weapons Wavelength. After she released her own Soul Protect, which means the one placed on the Weapon would be gone too._ when I came this realization, I immediately forgot about everything around me and focused, I could feel it. It wasn't as strong as it had been this morning, but it was definitely powerful.  
I concentrated harder now, looking for its location, I felt threads pulling me in the direction of the Wavelength, though I wasn't moving. It was close, very close. It was-  
"Aria." Said a very serious voice.  
I turned to Lysander, who was now on his feet. Suddenly, it felt as if something big and heavy had rammed into my chest.  
"Aria." He said again. "What's going on? Why are yo-"  
His voice faded, although I could see that he was still speaking. I couldn't hear him. It was if the Wavelength was calling, searching for a Meister, someone to match its Soul Waves.  
_Who? Who is calling me?_ my soul answered. _This Wavelength… yes. Yes, it can't be anyone else… Lysander… Lysander's soul is calling out._  
I looked to Lysander, who was staring at me, waiting for me to answer the questions that he'd asked before I'd zoned out. My thoughts raced _I've found it. The Weapon. Yes! Lysander is the Weapon!_  
_This is important. I have to explain this so that he won't freak out._ "Lysander," I spoke clearly, "I will explain everything to you, I promise. But first we need to get out of the open, okay?"  
Lysander looked me in the eyes, searching. For what I don't know, but after a moment he sighed and gave me his familiar half-smile.  
"Alright." He said.  
I smile back at him, relieved. "Okay, let's go." Then I led him back to my apartment.  
I hadn't realized how much time had passed since I'd arrived at the park, but when Lysander and I entered my apartment, I saw that it was nearly six. _Castiel's gonna be here soon. Dammit._  
I made my way to the living room, motioning for Lysander to follow. Once we'd settled onto the couch, I took a deep breath and began explaining.  
"I'll start from the beginning. Just as the Witch said, I'm a Meister from the Academy. The DWMA sent me here because we had received information that a Weapon was living in this town. I was supposed to find the Weapon and make them my partner, since Riko left the Academy." I said.  
"Wait, Riko, your friend that left, was your partner?" Lysander asked.  
I sighed, "Yeah, but during one of our missions, she succumbed to the Madness Wavelength and betrayed the Academy."  
"Oh." he said, then motioned for me to continue explaining.  
"When I first got here, I was unable to find any trace of the Weapon's Soul Wavelength. But this morning, when I left the apartment, I could feel it. The Wavelength was strong, and it wanted to be found. I'm guessing that was because the witch had casted soul protect on it, although I'm not sure how it could have slipped out of the Witch's spell. I was running towards its source, and that happened to be the school. However, when I stepped onto the school grounds, the Wavelength suddenly stopped, and it confused me, that's why I tripped."  
Lysander seemed truly interested now. "So you think that the Weapon is a student?" he asked.  
I took a deep breath. My hands were shaking. _Why am I so nervous?_ I asked myself.  
"Yes, the Weapon is a student at the school. When the witch left, the Soul Protect she cast on it was released. I was able to find it, and who it is." I said, thanking the heavens that my voice didn't crack.  
"Who is it then?"  
_This is It._ "Lysander, you're the Weapon." I said softly.  
There was one, long beat of silence. Lysander only sat there, looking shocked. A moment later, he blinked, as if he was just waking.  
"So you're saying… that I can transform into a Weapon." He said slowly, trying to comprehend.  
"Yes." I said patiently.  
He sighed. "That's… unexpected."  
"You're taking this very well." I said with a small smile.  
He laughed then, the rest of the shock melting away from his face. "So, does that mean, I have to go to the DWMA?" He asked  
I nodded. "All Weapons have to attend at the Academy for as long as it takes for them to control their Soul Wavelengths. After that, they can either stay in Death City, or return to their normal lives. The choice is yours. Also, Weapons and Meisters have a choice of whether or not they want to collect Kishin Souls, so I won't force you fight."  
"These Kishin Souls you fight against, why are they you're enemies?" he asked.  
My face turned serious. "Kishins are created when a human devours innocent Souls. They are creatures who know nothing but Madness and the need for power. Meisters and Weapons fight them and collect their souls, which are Called Kishin eggs. We feed these souls to our Weapons to make them stronger, and eventually turn them into a Death Scythe, a Weapon strong enough to be used by Lord Death. To create a Death Scythe, ninety-nine Kishin eggs and the soul of a Witch are needed."  
"Wait, so if I decide to fight, I have to eat souls? Do souls even taste good?" he asked, his brow furrowing.  
I let out a little giggle and said, "I asked that question once too. I was told that souls don't really have a taste, but they're still enjoyable."  
"Hmmm… well then, I think I've made my decision." Lysander said, standing up. He turned to face me, smiling and said, "Aria, I'm going to be your new partner. And after I've learned how to transform, I'm going to become a Death Scythe."


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting Death

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. _That's probably Castiel._ I stood and walked to the door, looking into the little eye-hole thing. _Yup. Castiel._ I opened the door and Castiel smirked at me, but this one was different, like he knew something I didn't.  
"What's with that look?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.  
He just ignored my question and took a step past me, calling into my apartment; "Hey Lys!"  
_What? How did he know that Lysander was here?_ "Castiel, what-?" I said then stopped when Lysander walked into the hallway with a sheepish little smile._ Castiel, you little shit head._  
Now this _really_ annoyed me. "Castiel you dumb*ss!" I shouted. "You _told_ him already!?"  
"Whoa whoa calm down, short-stuff!" Castiel said, raising his hands in defence. "What's the problem with him knowing?"  
"The _problem_ isn't _him_ knowing, it's the fact that you told somebody in the first place!" I said angrily.  
"Well if the problem is having anyone know about it, then why don't you care if Lysander knows?" he spat back.  
My anger deflated. _Oh yeah, Castiel doesn't know yet._ Then I let a small laugh escape my lips. "I forgot to tell you." I spoke between giggles. "Lysander is the Weapon."  
Castiel stood there dumbstruck for a second, then he replaces his expression with a smirk. "It would have been easier if you had just said that from the start."  
"Aw! But arguing with you is so much more fun!" I said sarcastically.  
"So does this mean we'll be leaving for the Academy soon?" Castiel asked, excited.  
Lysander suddenly spoke up. "I need to speak with Leigh first. Can we wait a little while?" he pleaded.  
"Of course." I said. "But right now, I need to call and report to Lord Death."  
"Oh yeah, I've been wondering, what does he look like?" Castiel asked curiosity in his eyes.  
I smirked to myself. "You'll see."  
I led them to my room and instructed them to sit on my bed, which was directly across from a wide, floor length mirror.  
"Uh, Aria? What are you doing?" Lysander inquired, confused.  
"I'm calling Lord Death." I explained, "Since you'll both be attending the Academy soon, it's important that you pay attention to this. You can use any reflective surface as a medium to contact Lord Death, as long as you know the Death Room's number."  
"Weird." I heard Castiel mutter, and I laughed quietly to myself.  
"Now, pay attention." I said and exhaled onto the mirror. I then began writing on the mirror's foggy surface while saying "forty-two, forty-two, five-sixty-four. Whenever you want to knock on Death's Door."  
As I finished the incantation, the mirror began to glow dimly before focusing on Lord Death's form. Behind be, I heard Lysander's and Castiel's sharp intake of breath.  
"Hello? Lord Death, are you there?" I greeted.  
"Hello! Hello Aria-Chan! How have things been going?" the Reaper asked.  
"Lord Death, I have succeeded in locating and identifying the Weapon, as well as someone who wishes to train to be a Meister." I replied, nervous because I'd implied that someone had found out that I'm a Meister.  
Instead of being angry or even annoyed, Lord Death seemed over joyed. "Wonderful! Splendid! Let me meet these two, if you please."  
I turned to Lysander and Castiel, both of them looked awestruck at the sight of the Grim Reaper. I motioned for them to step forward and then they stood before the mirror.  
"Nice to meet'cha! As Aria-Chan said I'm Death, the Grim Reaper. May I have your names?" he greeted them.  
Lysander was the first to speak; though he kept his reply short. "Lysander Blair."  
"Castiel Lyons." Said the red-head.  
"And which one of you two will have to honour to be Aria-Chan's partner?" Lord Death asked.  
"That would be me, sir." Lysander answered.  
"Congratulations! Having Aria-Chan as a partner will definitely help you adjust to the Academy." the Reaper enthused. "As for you Castiel-kun, I hope that you will be able to find a partner that you can depend upon."  
The guys nodded, then stepped back to leave me as the center of attention.  
"Lord Death, there was one other thing that I need to-" I began, but was cut off.  
"Also Aria-Chan, I felt that I should tell you that since you will be gaining a new partner, all of the souls you've collected thus far have been confiscated. This means that you'll be starting from square one." He informed me.  
"What!?" I objected, but Lord Death ignored me.  
"That is all! Bye-bye, see you when you return!" was Lord Death's last words before he ended the transmission.

"Goddammit." I muttered, still staring at the mirror, although the only image was my own reflection. "So," I began, turning to face Lysander and Castiel. "I suggest you guys begin packing. We'll be leaving for Death City in two days."  
"Alright!" Castiel exclaimed, jumping up from where he sat. "I'll be seeing you guys later then." Then he turned and left, obviously eager to get going.  
Lysander sighed and chuckled, standing up from my bed. "Well then, I think I should be going, I still have to speak with Leigh." He said, with a bit of sadness in his eyes.  
"Hey are you okay?" I said, a bit worried.  
He gave me a small smile and said, "Yes, I'm fine. It's just… well Leigh and I are close, and we've been on our own together for a while, so I guess I'm just worried he'll be lonely."  
"Oh. Well, I know it might be tough for him to consider, since he owns the store here and all, but he could always come with us, if he wanted to." I said, hoping to comfort him a little.  
It seemed to work well enough; the sadness in his mismatched eyes was replaced with hope, and a little bit of excitement. "You think so? I'll speak with him about it." He smiled. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." He called over his shoulder as he left my apartment.  
I smiled and called back, "'Kay, I'll give you guys a call in the morning!"  
_Now then._ I thought to myself. _I NEED to tell Lord Death about what the Witch said. About the second Kishin._  
Writing on the mirror and calling out the chant again, I prepared myself for what I was about to say.  
"Aria-Chan? Is there something the matter?" Lord Death asked, confused about my second call.  
"Yes, yes there is." I said, and then took a deep breath before continuing. "It's about the Kishin, sir."


	10. Chapter 9: You Said I Could Trust You

-Lysander's POV-

As I started off towards the home that I shared with my brother, Leigh, I began thinking of what I had just experienced. Even now, I found it difficult to wrap my head around the situation. _A Weapon, I'm actually a Weapon… wow._ It was surprising, really, my inability to find the correct words to describe my feelings at the moment. Normally, I have no issue with that sort of thing. And the sight of the Grim Reaper! It was completely unexpected. Usually, when I pictured the Grim Reaper, if I thought about it at all, I saw the generic hooded figure in a dark robe wielding a scythe.

My thoughts raced around my head as I slowly made my way home. However, one particular thought stood out. The restless feeling I'd had, the one where it felt as if a part of me was missing, had been filled. I no longer felt a dark, tiring absence within myself. I supposed that maybe, this was because that spell the Witch had cast,_ what was it… Soul Protect?_ had been undone, and now there was nothing masking my Soul Wavelength.

_You know that's not all, Lysander._ my mind whispered. _There is one other reason that you've begun to feel whole._  
Another reason? Possibly, but what?

_The empty feeling you had, it started weeks ago, so why would it suddenly stop now?_

I knew what that implied, but I denied it. One person couldn't possibly make such a difference to someone in less than a week. I thought this, tried my best to believe it, but I knew I was lying to myself.

_Quit hiding the truth from yourself. You know she means more to you than some stranger._

I tried to block out the truths that my conscience spoke about, but to no avail.  
For the rest of my walk home, I thought of the one person who filled the emptiness inside my soul.

Aria.

I opened the door to my brother's shop-which was also my home- and quietly stepped inside, trying to make as little noise as possible, knowing that Leigh would be waiting to pepper me with questions as to why I'm so late. Unfortunately, my efforts were wasted. Just as I was making my way to the staircase at the back of the store that would lead up to my room, the fluorescent lights of the store flashed on, momentarily blinding me.

"Where have you been?" Leigh's voice sounded worried, and also a little angry, which I guess was understandable, seeing as I had just arrived home at eleven.  
I sighed, thinking of the correct way to word my response, and how to explain why I had to leave. "I'm sorry, Leigh. I was at Aria's and I guess I forgot to call. But before you say anything, I have to talk to you. It's important."

The anger in Leigh's voice completely disappeared and held nothing but concern as  
he said, "is something wrong, Ly? Did something happen with Aria?"

I felt my stomach twist into nervous knots as I spoke. "Yes and no. it's sort of complicated. You see, the reason why Aria moved here was because… well…"

"Lysander, tell me. I'm your brother, you can trust me." Leigh said, sounding serious.

I released the breath that I'd been holding while Leigh was speaking, and I felt the knots untangle in my stomach. Of course I can trust Leigh, why wouldn't I? "Alright. Leigh, Aria was sent here by the DWMA. She's a Meister."

I had hoped that Leigh would accept what I had said, that he wouldn't think Aria was any different than when they'd met at the store. But my hope was torn apart when Leigh didn't respond.

Silence. For a moment, Leigh said nothing, only stared blankly at me as if I weren't there. Then, anger contorted his features, and his voice boomed from his throat. "_WHAT_!? _What did you just say!_?" he roared, walking towards me.

Shocked, I took a step back and raised my hands in defence. "Leigh! Calm down! What's wrong?"

Leigh stopped four feet in front of me, anger exuding from him, hate deep in his eyes, not directed at me, but at something else. "You said she was a _MEISTER_? That bitch!" he exclaimed. Looking me dead in the eyes he said, "You keep away from that conniving little witch, do you hear me!?"

My own anger started to boil inside me. I grabbed Leigh by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. Keeping a tight grip on him I struggled to control my voice. "Don't you_ ever_ call her that again! And don't you ever try to tell me to stay away from her. Aria is a Meister, so what? What's so wrong with her _risking her life_ to protect innocent people?"

Leigh let out a hateful laugh. "Meisters, Weapons, the Grim Reaper himself, every aspect of that wretched academy are all disgusting creations. They lie to you and tell you that they're doing what's right and that the world is better off with them running things the way they are. And it's when you start to trust them that the Vile Reaper will run you through with his scythe of so-called justice." He spat.

What was he talking about? The whole reason for the DWMA's existence was to keep balance between souls, and to protect this world. Everyone knew that. It had been proven when a student from the academy had slain the previous Kishin. It was all over the newspapers, radio, and television. So why didn't Leigh understand?

I clenched my fists even tighter as I fought to control my anger. "Disgusting? You really think that Weapon's and Meisters are Disgusting? Well, then I'm sure you'd be repulsed by the fact that your own brother is a Weapon!" I shouted in his face.

Leigh's expression changed from anger to shock, then back to anger again. "Don't lie to me, Lysander! That kind of sick joke is ridiculous!" he yelled back at me.

I pressed my arm against his shoulders harder now, making sure he was pinned to the wall, and shamefully hoping that it hurt. "It's no lie! I _am_ a Weapon and I _will_ be going to the DWMA with Aria!"

"Fine! Go, see if I care! I'll be glad to be rid of you. But just remember when those wretches betray you and leave you to die, I was the one that warned you." Leigh said as I released him from my grip and he walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

I leaned against the wall and sighed deeply, closing my eyes in remorse. I'd just lost the only family I had left, and for the most ridiculous of reasons. Why? Why did Leigh find Meisters and Weapons so repulsing? Why would he shun his own brother for something he couldn't control?

Leigh's words before our fight echoed in my mind, sending waves of pain through my chest. _Lysander, tell me. I'm your brother, you can trust me._

"You liar." I spoke into the dark, empty store. "you said I could trust you, you liar!"


	11. Chapter 10: No Regrets

-Lysander's POV-

I didn't know how long I sat in the dark, empty store. After Leigh stormed out I leaned against the wall and just stayed there, thinking. Why did Leigh want me to stay away from Aria? No, that wasn't it; it was more like he wanted me to stay away from anything to do with the academy and the Grim Reaper. But why?

Sorrow still lingered at the edge of my mind. The pain of losing my only brother, the only family I had left. However there was no reason to sit around and wallow in self-pity. Just as I was about to stand up and go upstairs to get my things in order, the still-unlocked front door burst open to reveal Aria's tiny, fragile-looking figure.

-Aria's POV-

My eyes flickered open and I sat up in bed, almost as if I'd been startled by something. Which was true, only… I couldn't figure out why. Taking a deep breath, I centred myself and focused my Soul Perception, not on anything specifically, just looking for any disturbances that might be in the area. That's when I felt it.

Sorrow, waves of pain and remorse emanating from one Soul Wavelength, Lysander's. What could have made him so upset? What could have caused such sadness in one person for their Soul Wavelength to darken?

I had to find him. I jumped out of bed and threw on whatever clothes I could find, not caring if they matched, not even bothering to put my hair up, instead letting it fall freely down my back to my knees. I quickly shoved my feet into my Doc Martens and raced out of my apartment, slamming the door behind me.

I ran full tilt towards the store, following Lysander's soul when I couldn't remember the way. Finally, after the few minutes that felt like an eternity, Leigh's store was in sight. I began to slow down, so that my speed wouldn't cause me to launch myself forward again. The inside of the store was dark, but I knew he was there; the pain that radiated from the store was almost tangible in the air.

I grabbed the door handle and pull, expecting it to be locked. To my surprise, the door swung open easily and I took a hesitant step forward.

"Lys?" I called into the darkness awaiting me.

"Over here." Came a tired-sounding reply.

I turned to see Lysander sitting with his back against the wall to my left. He looked exhausted, his hair ruffled on one side, a few buttons on his shirt undone… or broken? The lack of light made it difficult to tell. I quickly made my way over to where he sat and kneeled next to him, looking into his sorrow-filled eyes.

"Lys, what's wrong?" I asked gently.

His gaze shifted from the floor to me, and when he spoke his voice was barely above a whisper. "It's Leigh. When I told him that I was a Weapon he…freaked out. Said that he would be glad to be rid of me. He acted like I disgusted him."

-Lysander's POV-

I could see out of the corner of my eye as Aria knelt next to me, looking me in the eyes as she asked, "Lys, what's wrong?"

I looked up from the floor and into her brilliant scarlet gaze, and spoke, my voice slightly rough. "It's Leigh. When I told him that I was a Weapon he…freaked out. Said that he would be glad to be rid of me. He acted like I disgusted him."

I looked back down at the floor and heaved a sigh. Just then, I felt warmth on the left side of my body, and felt a light pressure. I tore my gaze from the floor to see Aria, with her slender arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

I felt heat rise to my face, but soon forgot it as I heard Aria whisper, "I'm so sorry Lysander. I didn't mean for that to happen. If only I hadn't come…" her warm breath brushed past my ear and along my cheek.

"Don't say that Aria. I'm happy that I got to meet you, and I'm glad that I was able to become your partner. I don't regret any of it. Leigh made his choice when he walked away, there's nothing you could have done." I said to her gently, wrapping my arms around her and resting my chin on the top of her head.

I felt her bury her face into my shoulder and her voice came out slightly muffled as she said, "I just wish things could have turned out differently. That you and Leigh could have stayed the way you were"

I tightened my grip on her one last time before pulling back and looking into her clear gaze and speaking softly. "I know you do, and so do I, but we can't go back and change things to what they used to be. All we can do now is accept things for what they are and keep moving forward."

Aria gave me a sad smile and nodded before standing up and offering me her hand. I took it and she helped me off the ground and afterwards saying, "Maybe things were supposed to happen this way, and maybe not. But I want you to know that there are people who will always be there with you. That means both me and Castiel. Never give up on something because you're afraid Lysander, because fear can make you stronger. Understanding fear and then gaining the resolve to overcome it is what will give you strength."

I smiled as I realized her words were sincere and said, "Thank you, Aria, Really. My brother and I might not be on good terms anymore, but I won't sit around and pity myself. Like you said, I'll gain the resolve to overcome my fear of the future and what it will bring me."

After I said that the sadness disappeared from her smile and she grinned at me. And while she did I noticed that her canine teeth were longer than average. They didn't look like vampire teeth, but… they seemed abnormal, in a good way.

"Well then," she started, snapping me out of my mental reprieve. "I doubt that you'll want to be around when Leigh gets back, so I was thinking that we should start packing your stuff, if you don't mind me helping"

_Right.. I guess I should get out of here before Leigh returns._ I sighed mentally then said, "I don't mind, in fact I could use the help. I think we have some cardboard boxes in the back, could you head upstairs and wait for me? My room is at the end of the hall."

-Aria's POV-

I climbed up the stairs and turned down the hall that would lead to Lysander's bedroom. The main part of the apartment was very similar in style to Lysander and Leigh. The walls were painted dark, rich colors and black metal chandelier-looking light fixtures hung from the ceiling. At the end of the hall, I spotted Lysander's door, which had been painted a green that was a shade or two darker than emerald. I turned the black metal doorknob-that matched the light fixtures and pushed the door open. The walls of Lysander's room had been painted the same color as the door, but on the other side of it the door was charcoal black. Near a window on the left-hand side of the room sat a queen sized bed with black satin linens.

"Ehem," came a cough from behind me. I whirled around to see Lysander carrying a stack of folded up cardboard boxes.

He set them down on the bed as I looked around the room again and murmured in awe, "Your room… is so cool."

Lysander let out a short chuckle and said, "Thanks."

After that we began putting together boxes and sorting through things like books, clothing, keepsakes and other things. I told him that we only needed to bring a bag with a few things in them for the next two days, and that the DWMA would send his things my apartment in Death City.

"Wait," he said after I finished explaining. "Your apartment? So I'm going to be living with you? I heard that the DWMA had dorms." he said, sounding confused.

I nodded. "Yeah. But the dorms are for students that are part of the 'NOT' class. NOT stands for 'Normally Overcome Target'. The students in this class are usually the people who choose not to fight. Since we'll be fighting Kishin Souls, that means we're in the 'EAT' class, which stands for 'Especially Advanced Talent'. Students that are in this class usually already have partners, so they're provided with an apartment in the city." I stated matter-of-factly.

"I see, but what about food expenses?" Lysander inquired.

I shrugged and continued in my 'lesson' while we continued to pack Lysander's things. "All students at the DWMA have a living expenses budget, but if you spend it before the end of the month, the academy will usually assign you to work someplace for a little while until you get your next payment."

He nudged my shoulder with his elbow playfully and said, "Oh? And would you know this from experience?"

I blushed, slightly embarrassed. "N-no! Everyone knows that..." I said looking down.

Lysander grew quiet. When I looked up at him he seemed lost in thought. Suddenly he snapped out of it and said, "I've been meaning to ask you, but how long have you been in the DWMA? You seem to be pretty experienced."

I blinked, taken by surprised by the question. "Hmmm… well, I've lived in Death City ever since I was little. In the elementary schools, they don't teach you about fighting, but they do make sure that you're healthy and try to build you're physical capabilities. They also teach you about Soul Wavelength's and Kishins."

"Really? So is anyone else in your family in the academy?" he asked.

At first, I didn't know how to answer the question. My memories were still too hazy to remember that far back. "Well, the truth is, I don't really know. When I was six, I lost all of my memories. One of the teachers at the academy supposedly found me after I'd been in a car accident. After I'd been released from the hospital, they brought me to Death City because apparently my family had died in the crash." Seeing his expression I smiled reassuringly and continued. "Don't worry it wasn't all bad. There was another kid like me who had been raised by the academy after he lost his family. He's a friend of mine, named Black Star."

Lysander seemed to have been trying to change the conversation to lighter topics as he asked, "What are the other students at the academy like? "

I smiled and continued on about my other friends in the EAT class. There was Tsubaki, Black Star's Weapon partner who was sweet and kind and was probably the only person who could deal with Black Star's arrogance. Then there was Death the Kid, Lord Death's son and his two partners, the Thomson sisters Liz and Patty. Kid had a few… strange tendencies, like his obsession with symmetry. And then where Liz always seemed to be the more responsible of the two, and Patty was always bright and cheerful. There was the Scythe Meister Maka, who had slain the Kishin Asura, and who was always so confident and strong. And finally, there was Soul Eater. We had been close ever since we entered the academy together and had been placed in the same class and although I didn't say so, I also may have sort of… liked him… a little bit. As in more than friends sort of way. Soul was also Maka's Weapon and although when Riko had suggested that I was jealous, it didn't matter to me. I was fine with Riko as my partner and Soul was fine with Maka as his partner.

At last, we were finished packing. When we had started it was on thirty in the morning, and when we finished, it was six. And the whole time Leigh never showed up once. Finally, tired and with aching feet, I climbed into bed at my apartment after I suggested Lysander stay with me until we leave, and that he could sleep on the couch, of course.

I drifted off to sleep for the next few hours before I had to get my own things in order. And as I closed my eyes I thought, _Home, I'll finally be going home._


	12. Chapter 11: Welcome to Death City

-Aria's POV-

"Seriously?" Castiel said, voicing his irritation.

I sighed and let a little of my own irritation seep into my voice as I said, "Yes, seriously. Now can we just move on already? We have to get going soon."

Lysander spoke up then, putting his notebook aside. "Castiel, I don't see why this is such a big deal."

"It's not a big deal, I just don't see why we couldn't take a plane to death city. This seems way slower." The red-head said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I threw my hands up at his stubbornness. Trying to keep my voice level I said, "Look, I know you're anxious to start your training, but you're going to have to wait. And besides, Death City doesn't even _have_ an airport! Now can we just get on the goddamn train?"

Castiel huffed and said, "Fine, fine whatever. Let's go then." Then he picked up his backpack and guitar case and started walking towards the train doors.

The three of us sat in the booth, Lysander next to me and Castiel facing us. We sat there for a few minutes before we felt the train lurch forwards, gaining speed as we left the station. We were the only ones in the train car, which was reserved for DWMA students. For the next eight hours we talked somewhat, read, listened to music and eventually dosed off.

_I was standing in the middle of the street, the moon hung in the sky with its permanent grin. Around me, the street lamps flickered, their light reflecting off store windows. I knew this street. No, I knew this [b]city[/b]. This was Death City, where I had grown up from the time I was six. There was no reason to be afraid here, so then, why did I feel panicked?_

_Suddenly, I heard a high feminine laugh echo down the road. When I turned to see where it came from all I could see was mist. The laugh sounded again, coming from the other side of me, then more laughter, horrendous cackles exploding from either side of me. Wherever I turned, the cruel chuckles followed me. I pressed my hands over my ears, but it was useless. The shadows formed by the streetlights grew longer, blacking out everything they touched. Eventually, everything was consumed by darkness._

_The laughter continued around me, but within it, I could hear something else. It was a light, slightly hollow sound. Footsteps, I realized. Turning towards the source of the sound, I felt the blood drain from my face and my limbs go numb._

_Her pale blonde, waist-length hair cascaded in waves down her back. Her dark, emerald green eyes had been replaced by ones that were black as pitch. She wore a red, knee length coat that looked like it had been dyed with blood. While her left hand was empty, her right hand held a black flame. Her sweet, kind features had settled into a cold stare. The girl who had once been my best friend was gone; in her place was a deadly being that portrayed no emotion. Is this what Riko had become?_

_Fighting back tears, I felt my legs give out as I sank slowly to my knees. Riko continued to walk towards me, and she spoke, "So, you've already replaced me?" she said, her voice betraying no emotions. _

_"N-no." I heard my voice whisper shakily. "It's not like that."_

_Finally, as she stopped and stood before me, she sank onto one knee, leaned forward and whispered, "Would you like me to erase your fears?"_

*****

I woke to someone shaking me. When I reluctantly opened my eyes I saw that it was Lysander.

_Lysander… Am I replacing Riko with him? _Technically I was, but only as a Weapon Partner. Riko was still my best friend, even if she had betrayed the academy.

"Aria?" Lysander's voice broke me out of my mental reprieve and turned my attention to him. "We've reached the station, it's time to leave."

I blinked and looked around, realizing that the train had stopped. "Oh…" I breathed, stretching before standing up. "Hey, wait." I said, making Lysander stop on his way out of the train doors.

He turned and asked, "What is it? Did you forget something?"

I shook my head, "No, that's not it. But where's Cas?"

Lysander chuckled then, and said, "Oh, right. He grabbed all of his things and got off the train as soon as it stopped. I swear, I've never seen him that excited about anything."

_Oh. That's right. We're in Death City now._ I thought to myself. "Well then, shall I give you two the grand tour of the city?" I said, smiling as followed Lysander out of the train.

Falling into step beside me, Lysander answered, "I'm pretty sure Castiel would want head to the academy right away, so why don't we start there?"

I nodded. "Sounds good. We just have to make a stop at my- sorry, _our_ apartment to get everything settled." I said.

Lysander agreed and we went on to look for Castiel. We found him waiting impatiently at the station exit, his arms crossed with a scowl on his face. After that we slowly made our way through the seemingly gloomy city to the apartment I would now be sharing with Lysander. Although Death City may appear creepy from the outside, I always found it to be very lively, but that may be because I'm used to it.

When we finally made it to the apartment, a tall white walled building with a red roof (much like the rest of the city's buildings); I pointed Lysander in the direction of his room and told him to put his things in there. Oddly enough, the movers who were supposed to move our things got here _before_ we did. _Damn trains…_ I thought.

As I stepped out of the apartment I remembered that Castiel still didn't have a place to stay. "Hey wait, we have to stop at the enrolment office so Castiel can be assigned to a dorm."

Castiel looked as if the idea the he had nowhere to go hadn't even occurred to him. "Shit, that's right. Well I guess we'll just get my room assignment then go see the academy, alright?" he said, annoyed.

We quickly made our way the enrolment office, which really wasn't all that far away from the academy. Upon filling out Castiel's and Lysander's enrolment forms and receiving Castiel's temporary dorm assignment, I found myself getting excited about finally being home. The familiar sights and sounds of Death City never got old, and I found myself comforted by my surroundings.

Again, we found ourselves navigating our way through the winding streets, up random staircases and through various courtyards before at last; we stood at the base of the academy's steps. The pristine white steps stretched on to what seemed almost infinitely, when we finally reached the top, Castiel and Lysander gasping for air.

I laughed at the sight of them, remembering my first exhausting trip up the stairs. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it." I said trying to hold back another round of laughter.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming our way, running footsteps. I looked up to see who it was when I was tackled to the ground by a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Aria!" she cheered. "You're back!"

"Patty! What the hell?" I said laughing at my friend.

Just then, more shouts came from my left, "Aria!" "Look whose back!" "You didn't miss a great star like me while you were gone did'ya?"

_Don't tell me…_

Patty scrambled off me and I stood up to see that my friends were coming to greet me. Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Maka, Liz and Kid all joined Patty and I, while Lysander gave me a questioning look and Castiel just crossed his arms and looked annoyed.

Tsubaki was the first to speak up after approaching us, "It's nice to see you're back! How did your mission go?" she said smiling kindly before leaning around to look at Castiel and Lysander, who were standing behind me. "from the looks of things it went quite well."

I laughed and stepped aside so the rest of the group could see the guys. "Everyone, this is my new Weapon partner Lysander," I said, gesturing in his direction before continuing. "and this is Castiel; he's going to be training as a Meister."

Lysander stepped forward with a slightly shy smile on his face while Castiel gave the group a once-over and smirked. The second I was out of the way my friend rushed in to meet the guys. Well, the boys and Patty did anyways, while Liz, Tsubaki and Maka gave them their space.

As I went to go join them I heard Kid shout, "What the hell!?" I turned and saw him inspecting Lysander thoroughly. _ Ah dammit _

I rushed over and grabbed Lysander's shoulder, pulling him down slightly so I could whisper in his ear, "Sorry, but I forgot to mention this. You see, Kid has an obsession with… symmetry. He's really not a bad person; he's just… well, kinda off. Just ignore it." I said, trying to convince him that it really wasn't all that bad, once you get used to it.

Lysander raised his eyebrows at me but said nothing. Meanwhile, Kid was muttering to himself; "Left, right. Left, right. It's not balanced!"

I turned, slightly annoyed and said, "Kid, it's alright. Let me remind you that he's not the only one unsymmetrical around here." I stated, pointing to the three white horizontal stripes that went across the left side of his black hair.

Kid looked stricken, his bright golden eyes widening, even though my words weren't all that harsh. "You're right! I'm asymmetrical garbage! Garbage! I don't deserve to be a Grim Reaper!" he wailed, holding his hands to his head.

Lysander broke through Kid's emotional tirade, saying, "Wait, you're a Grim Reaper?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Kid is Lord Death's son. His full name is Death the Kid." I clarified.

We both looked over at Kid again to see Liz and Patty comforting him, which is what usually happens when kid has a meltdown.

"Those two girls are the Thompson sisters, Liz and Patty. They're Kid's Weapon partners, twin pistols. The two guys talking to Castiel over there are Black Star and Soul Eater." I said pointing to where the three guys were laughing and cracking jokes. "Black Star is the blue haired one, he's a Dark Assassin; his Partner is Tsubaki, the girl who came up to us first. Soul is the white-haired guy; he's a good friend of mine and also Maka's Weapon." I finished, cursing the heat the rose to my cheeks as I gestured from Soul to Maka, a green-eyed girl with short blonde pigtails.

Lysander nodded his head, "I see, so these are DWMA students…" he mused for a moment before a grin broke out on his face. "I think I'm going to like it here."

I smiled back at him, and then turned to look at my friends. Maka and Tsubaki were chatting excitedly, Soul and Black Star were telling Castiel about one of the group missions we went on and- _wait, where's Kid?_

"Hey, Lysander right?" it was Kid; he stood in front of Lysander with Liz and Patty hanging back, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, if my first impression came off a little strange, I didn't mean to insult you or anything."

Lysander shook his head, smiling friendly, "You don't need to apologize, it's fine." he said.

Kid nodded. "Well then, I was thinking, we should have a party, celebrating Aria's return and Lysander's and Castiel's entrance into the Academy!" he enthused.

_Some things never change._ I thought to myself, smiling. "Alright! Let's get going!" I said, and we all made our way to Kid's home, where we usually held parties and celebrations.

While the guys were setting up decorations and such, the girls ushered me into Liz's room where she announced that I needed to change my outfit if I was going to attend the party. I laughed as we went through piles of clothing mixing and matching different items. Eventually, I picked out a white blouse with frills lining the spot where the buttons lined up, a ruffle-ly skirt that had a red and black diagonally stripped shawl-looking thing over top of a black and white skirt. Over top of the blouse what a black coat, the front of it dipping to reveal the top of my blouse, and had red lace along the sleeves which billowed out from the elbow. And finally, around my neck was a red silk ribbon, tied in a bow and pinned with a black oval pendant.

The girls all got their outfits sorted out as well, an assortment of beautiful dresses, skirts, and accessories. Sitting at Liz's large black-trimmed vanity, I was about to pull my hair back into my long twin-tails when a hand stopped me. I looked up to see Tsubaki, a warm smile and her sweet face,

"Why don't you leave it down this time Aria? I think it's prettier that way." She said kindly before releasing my wrist,

I smiled back at her and decided to take her advice. Standing up from the mirror, and turned and exited the room with my friends, walking down the hall that led to where the party was going to be. We opened the large double-doors to reveal food tables, a record player (as per usual at Kid's house) and the guys, having found time to change while setting up for the party.

Everyone laughed, ate (especially Black Star…*sighs*) and even danced a little. I was standing by one of the tables, talking with Lysander, Castiel and Soul. Everything was going smoothly until Castiel opened his fat mouth and asked the one question I was _really_ hoping he wouldn't.

"So are you two siblings or something?" he questioned, gesturing from me to Soul.

I couldn't help it I blushed, only this time I _really_ blushed. I felt my face turn scarlet and I scrambled around in my head for an answer, but Soul beat me to it.

"Do we really look that much alike? I guess with the hair and eyes and all, even her teeth and kind of pointed like mine. Huh." He smiled and put his arm around my shoulders good naturedly. "I guess that means you're my long-lost sister!" he joked playfully before releasing me.

_Sister… sister… he thinks I'm like a sister…_ I mentally despaired. On the outside though, I painted a smile on my face and laughed it off. "Yeah right. Who would want to be _your_ sister." I said laughing.

For the rest of the evening I had a pretty good time. Eventually Black Star got a little rowdy and started swinging from the chandelier like the idiot he is Maka ended up knocking him down with one of the books that lined the shelves on Kid's wall.  
Lysander turned to me; one eyebrow raised and asked, "Is it always like this here?"

I grinned at the mess that Black Star had made falling. Tables knocked over and food scattered on the ground.

I looked back up at Lysander and said, "Yup. Welcome to Death City."


	13. Chapter 12: Surprise!

-Aria's POV-

My eyes flashed open as my alarm clock blared its annoying cry. Groaning and rolling over, I slammed my hand down on the clock and got out of bed. I opened my door to the hallway and crossed the hall to the bathroom. As I opened the painted black bathroom door I realized I heard water running.

_Huh? That's strange…. Did I leave the tap on?_ my half asleep brain pondered. I turned to the mirror and saw that it was covered in fog…from steam… _Wait… Oh god._ Heat instantly flushed into my cheeks as I felt my entire face turn scarlet.

I let out a little surprised squeak as Lysander poked his head out from behind the shower curtain, eyes wide and a little blush on his cheeks.

"Aria!? W-what are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

I covered my eyes with my hands and turned around, hiding my face. "S-sorry! You see… I just forgot you were here and… sorry!" I stuttered, running out of the bathroom.

I ran back into my room and slammed the door behind me, my frustration seeping out. I heard the water for the shower turn off and a few minutes later, footsteps coming towards my door.

A few brief knocks sounded on my door, followed by Lysander's voice. "Uhh… Aria?" he called hesitantly. When I didn't answer he sighed continued. "I'm not mad, really. I was just surprised, that's all… Aria?" he sighed, sounding not quite impatient, but close to it. "Can you please open the door?"

After a brief moment of consideration, I got up and slowly opened my bedroom door.

"I-I'm sorry Lys. I really didn't mean to do that." I said, looking at my feet.

Lysander put a finger under my chin and forced me to look at him. "It's fine, alright? Don't worry about it." He said, his mismatched gaze set on my eyes.

I nodded, my cheeks starting to turn pink again. Lysander released my chin and took a step back, saying, "Okay well, you should hurry, it's almost time to leave and I doubt you'll want to show up at school in your pajamas." He said as he walked back to his own room down the hall.

****

After the… incident earlier in the morning, Lysander and I quietly made our way through the labyrinth-like city to the academy. We had just made it to the top of the steps when an announcement came over the P/A system.

"Partners Aria and Lysander, along with Meister Castiel, Please report to Professor Stein. Partners Aria and Lysander, along with Meister Castiel, report to Professor Stein."

_Oh… cr*p_ I mentally shuttered. Stein wasn't really a problem for me, but Lysander and Castiel? They would be completely unprepared.

Sighing, I turned to Lysander and explained, "It's probably just some formalities, like signing up to be in the EAT class. But-"

I was cut off when Castiel joined us saying, "What's this about some guy called Stein? And why do we need to see him?" When he spoke, he almost sounded…excited…about…school…

_Wait What!?_ I let my eyes go wide with mock horror as I stared at Castiel.

"Uh, you doing okay there Aria?" Castiel asked, raising an eyebrow at my expression.

"Cas, you… are you… _excited to be at school?_" I asked in response, putting a hand over my mouth to hide my growing smile.

"What! Hell No!" he said, turning away.

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing, Lysander joining me.

Castiel grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, then said, "Whatever, let's go see this 'professor Stein'"

I led them down the corridor and to my classroom, where Stein would be waiting. I opened the door to see him sitting backwards in his rolling desk chair and looking over a sheet of paper. He turned as we approached, the lights glinting off his glasses, hiding his expression, save for the small smile that spread across his face as he took in the three of us.

"Aria, good thing you showed up before class." He said as a greeting.

Just then the bell rang, but Stein seemed as if he hadn't noticed.

"What did you want to see us about?" I questioned, wary about the tone of his voice.

Students had begun to file in and take their seats in the desks that were set up in rows going upwards, so that the attention would be drawn to the teachers' desk in the middle of the room.

"I wanted to get a good look at the new students to see which one I'll start the experiments on first." He said with anticipation in his voice as he adjusted his glasses.

_Every freaking time…_ I sighed mentally.

I looked over at Lys and Castiel, their eyes had widened and their faces looked a few shades paler. _Are they taking him seriously?_

I let out a real sigh. "Alright, let's go." I said, guiding them towards their seats.

I heard Stein laugh as we walked away. Class soon began and I watched as Stein stepped up to write on the black board, occasionally turning the giant metal screw that was sticking out of the left side of his head.

Class came and went, Stein didn't bother making the guys introduce themselves and soon, lunch came around. The three of us walked into the cafeteria, and I led them to a large table where the rest of my friends were sitting.

"Hey you two, so how has your first day been going? Stein didn't scare you off did he?" asked Black Star as we sat down.

Castiel spoke through mouthfuls of his sandwich, "What was with that guy?"

"What do you mean?" said Maka, closing her book.

"I mean, he-"

"Oooh! Aria-Chan!" Said a male voice, followed by running footsteps.

I turned to see Death Scythe, formerly known as Spirit, running towards me with his arms spread out. I ducked just in time so that I wasn't caught up in a tackle hug.

Maka stood up from her seat, book in hand and said, "Papa! What do you think you're doing!?"

"I was only trying to welcome Aria-Chan home after her mission!" he claimed raising his hands in defense.

Maka raised the book she was holding, the spine of it facing outward. "Maka…"

Death Scythe took a step back, knowing what was coming next. "Hold on there Maka, you aren't really going to-"

"…Chop!" she said and swung the book down, slamming it onto the top of Death Scythe's head.

Choosing to ignore the commotion that was going on beside me, I sat down and looked at Lysander, who was looking at Maka and Death Scythe with open curiosity.

"Uh, what just happened?" Lysander asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Oh, nothing, just an adult version of Castiel." I said before biting into my apple.

Castiel bristled at this comment. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he said without a trace of humor.

And so, the noise continued until the bell sounded and we made our way back to class.

****

-Castiel's POV-

Shortly after lunch I started in the EAT class. Still no partner. Still no real lessons on matching Soul Wavelengths. Perfect.

I was walking back to the dorms after classes had ended, headphones in with my iPod playing Winged Skulls when out of nowhere, someone ran into me, dropping their stuff onto the ground. I looked down to see that it was a girl with short, inky black hair that framed her pale face.

"Ah crap, I'm sorry! I was kind of in a rush and I wasn't really looking where I was going." She said as she started to pick up her things.

"Whatever." I muttered as I bent and picked up one of the books that had scattered on the ground. _What the hell is wrong with me? Normally I'd just brush her off._

We stood up and I handed the books to her and that's when I finally got a good look at her. She had bright red eyes with flecks of deep orange and crimson. She looked about 5' 7" and had a curved yet slender frame. _She's kind of cute… wait, what?_

She looked at me apologetically with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Again, sorry about that. I'm Raven," she said.

I stood there for a second, not exactly knowing how to respond._ I must really be losing it…_ Raven cleared her throat, drawing my attention back to her.

"So? Are you going to tell me your name or am I going to have to call you Cherry from now on?" she said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

I smirked. _This one has some bite to her._ I thought. "Castiel." I answered, becoming a little interested.

"Well then Cas, are you a student at the academy too? I haven't seen you around here before." She asked, curiosity lighting her eyes.

"Yeah, I signed up for the EAT class just a little while ago, I'm training as a Meister." I admitted, not sure why I was telling her this, but not caring either.

She smirked, "What a coincidence, I'm in the EAT class too. I'm a Weapon." She stated.

I began to step forwards, stopping about two and a half feet in front of her. "A Weapon, huh? Got a partner?" I asked,

She smiled. "Nope. You?"

"Nope." I grinned. I knew we had both come to the same conclusion. "Partners?"

Her smirk came back,  
"Sure."


	14. Chapter 13: Only a Month?

-Aria's POV-

"_What!?_" I exclaimed out of disbelief.

Castiel sighed, "Is it so hard for you to believe that I found a partner?"

I let a tiny smirk fall onto my face as I asked, "Do you want the honest answer, or do you want me to spare your feelings?"

"Oh _ha ha_ very funny Short-stuff." He said sarcastically, rolling his stormy gray eyes.

I crossed my arms, unwilling to let this go. "So who is it? Do I know them?"

"Her name is Raven Tamashi, alright?" he finally admitted.

I felt my face light up with excitement. "Ooh! I know Raven; she used to be my roommate when I was living at the dorms. Hmmm, I think she's a lance type Weapon." I stated.

Just then I heard one of the doors in the hallway open and shut, and soon after, Lysander stepped into the living room, where Castiel and I were sitting on opposite ends of the couch.

He flopped down between us, looking at Castiel and asking, "So what are two talking about? I thought you would have been off training with Stein."

Castiel snorted. "No way in hell I'm going training _alone_ with that guy." He shuttered. "And I was telling Aria that I found a Weapon partner, and no, it's not that surprising."

Lysander reacted with the same mild shock and disbelief that I had. "So quickly? Well, you have to admit, it is a _little_ surprising." He said with a small smile and a spark of humor in his green and golden eyes.

I shifted forward and sat cross-legged on the sofa. "So have you two tried matching Soul Wavelengths yet?" I asked.

"We managed to match our Souls quite a few times, and she can already turn into a Weapon, so I guess we just need more practise. What about you two? It's already been a month, are _you_ able to match Soul Wavelengths?" he asked skeptically.

I grinned, looking at Lysander, who wore a similar expression. "Actually, why don't we show you?"

****

Okay, I know we were showing off a little bit, but we couldn't resist. Shortly after Lys had begun his training we had discovered that his Soul Wavelength was particularly powerful, and after only two weeks he had no trouble with switching back and forth between his human form and his Weapon form. The only troublesome part was matching Soul Waves, and even then it wasn't much of a struggle.

The two of us led Castiel to the top of the apartment complex, which he and his partner would be moving into once they received clearance to go on missions. Once there, we directed Castiel to stand a little ways away from the center of the roof, where Lys and I were currently standing. I took a deep breath, focusing my Soul Wavelength on matching Lysander's.

I turned to look at him, "Ready?" I asked, a small smile planted on my face.

Lysander simply nodded. Soon his form started to glow, and as his features wavered his entire body was engulfed in a soft green light. Quickly after that, the glowing light leapt into the air and turned into the form of a staff. I caught it as it began to fall and twirled it several times above my head before holding it in front of me. It was only after I'd stopped spinning him that Lysander's blade took shape and the light that radiated off him receded, leaving a deadly looking Scythe with colours that matched Lys's eyes. Forest green made a V shape down the center of the shiny black blade, and the double-sided edges that rested on the opposite side of the blade, and at the end of the staff were outlined in gold.

I turned to Castiel, and was met with a shocked expression. His gray eyes held disbelief while his mouth was hanging open slightly.

After he finally recovered he managed to mumble, "Are you sure it's only been a month?"

****

I stepped out into the blinding sunlight after classes had finished for the day. Lys was staying behind for some extra lessons on Wavelength control and I was just beginning to head home when a familiar male voice stopped me.

"Oi! Aria, wait up!" I turned to see Soul coming towards me with his devilish little grin.

I smiled up at him. "Oh, hey Soul. What's up?" I greeted him as I usually did.

"I was going to go see the new Fairy Tail movie that just came out, wanna come?" he offered, making my heart leap.

I gasped, "_The Fairy Tail movie!?_ I've been wanting to see that for months!" I said excitedly. Fairy Tail was my favorite anime _and_ manga, and I'd been dying to see the movie but was sent on a mission with Lys the day it came out.

Soul grinned. "I'll take that as a 'hell yes'. Wait here, I'll bring my bike around." He said then jogged off towards where he'd parked his bright orange motorcycle.

The roar of the motorcycles engine came closer and I looked up just as it came to a halt in front of me. Smiling to myself, I sat down behind Soul and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.

"Ready?" Soul asked, raising his voice so it could be heard over the engine's snarls.

I nodded, and we took off down various streets and alleyways before stopping in front of 'Death Cinema', the only movie theatre in Death City. The two of us went inside and stood in line to buy our tickets. Soon after we were walking around rows of chairs in the dark trying to pick out the best seat.

As the last of the lights dimmed and the previews came on screen, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. The film had finally started and I watched as my favorite characters come on screen. To say the least, the movie was amazing, filled with action, adventure and the strength of bonds that was usual in Fairy Tail. At one point I looked over at Soul out of the corner of my eye and saw that he was doing the same. Our eyes met briefly, then I quickly turned my attention back to the movie as I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks.

Unfortunately, the film had to come to an end and I suppressed a sigh as the credits rolled up. Just as we stepped out of the theatre and back onto the street, I felt someone grab my hand. I looked down and felt my face turn pink as I saw that Soul had woven his fingers through mine. Tightening his grip on my hand slightly, Soul led me down the street to where he'd parked his bike. The ride home was short and only a few minutes had passed until I was standing on the sidewalk at the back of my apartment.

Soul took hold of my hand again turned me so that I was facing him, standing only a foot apart. "Thanks again for coming to the movie with me, it would have been seriously uncool if I'd went alone." He said, his crimson eyes meeting my own.

I smiled up at him, "No problem, the movie was great, thanks for bringing me along." I said gratefully, turning to go inside but was pulled back.

"Aria." Soul said softly.

Soul brought his free hand up and caught a strand of my hair that flowed from one of my twin tails and let it slide through his fingers. He then used that hand to cup my cheek and took a step closer to me, so that our faces were only inches apart. I felt my face heat up with having Soul at such a close proximity. _He's so much taller than me…_ my dazed mind mused. Soul gently pressed his forehead to mine and exhaled, as if he had been holding his breath. I looked into his scarlet eyes and found myself lost in his gaze.

Very gently, as if I would break, Soul pressed his warm lips onto mine and I completely lost myself in our kiss. I opened my mouth to him as he slowly backed us up until I felt the wall of the building pressed against my back. The hand that wasn't holding my cheek slipped around my waist as he held me closer to him. I felt his lips leave mine and trail kisses down my neck as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

Soul lifted his head so that he could press our foreheads together once more. "I should probably get going." He said with a hint of reluctance in his voice.

I nodded and pressed my lips against his one last time before he left for his apartment. I slowly trudged up the stairs and then opened the door to the apartment that I was sharing with Lys and to see that he was sitting in the living room writing in his notebook.

He looked up as I entered, on my way to my bedroom. "Hey, where were you all day?" Lys asked, slightly curios and slightly worried.

I shrugged. "I went to see the Fairy Tail movie with Soul." I said as I walked past and into my room.

As soon as I closed my door I leaned back on it and sank onto the floor.

_What the hell just happened?_


	15. Side Story: New Companion

-Castiel's POV-

This was it. _Finally,_ Raven and I had been cleared for missions, even if they were only D rank. In the last month I'd been attending the DWMA, I'd gotten to know Raven fairly well, and discovered that she was actually pretty fun to hang out with.

At the moment, we were finishing with our first mission, which was to collect the soul of a Demi-kishin that went by the name of Gorius. In actuality, defeating him had been difficult, although the mission was supposed to be easy. That only meant that we needed to continue our training and develop our skills.

"We should start heading back." Raven said as she swallowed our opponent's glowing red soul. She turned to me and motioned for me to lead the way back to the hotel we would be staying the night at.

Earlier on that day she had declared that I would be sleeping on the couch seeing as there was only one bed. I had been tempted to suggest that we could share the bed but for some reason I thought it would be best if I kept my mouth shut. As we walked past the entrance to an alleyway, I heard a loud crash. I turned and saw that a garbage can had been knocked over. Noticing that I'd stopped; Raven halted her steady pace and came over to see what I'd been looking at.

"Get ready." I said to her and she almost immediately began to glow as her body took the form of a lance.

I stepped forward cautiously as I began to look for what had turned the trash can onto its side. I raised Raven's lance and stepped around the garbage can quickly, readying myself for attack when suddenly, a dog stepped out of the shadows. The large Belgian Shepard whined and lowered its head when it saw the Weapon I was holding.

"You've got to be kidding me." I laughed as Raven changed back into her human form and gave the dog a curious look.

I held my hand out for the dog to sniff me and it almost immediately chirped out a happy bark and licked my hand. As I began to pat the dog's head I searched for tag or at least a collar but found none.

"Hmm, there's no way we're going to have time to find its owner." Raven stated and I looked back at her and gave her a smirk.

"No need to find its owner, I'll take him." I said as I unfastened the chain that was hanging from my jeans and hooked it around the dog's neck. "But that means you'll need a name… aha, what about Demon?"

At this, the dog let out another excited bark, his tail sweeping from side to side happily.

"Alright then Demon, Raven, lets head back"


	16. Chapter 14: Unexpected Aquaintance

-Aria's POV-

Lys, Castiel, Raven and I had just stepped out of the DWMA's giant black doors and were about to head home when we were stopped by Soul and Maka. When I saw Soul my stomach gave a little flip and I felt a tiny blush creep onto my cheeks as I remembered the night before.

I gave soul a smile as he came to stand beside me. "Hey, guys, what's up?" Soul asked as he returned my smile.

For some reason Lys sounded somewhat annoyed as he answered. "We were just heading home. What about you two?" he said politely but his words were clipped.

I looked over at him and saw that his face was expressionless and that he was studying Soul intensely.

"Pretty much the same, but we have some time to kill before we go." Soul replied without looking at Lysander, in fact he seemed to be _avoiding_looking at Lys.

_Huh, that's strange…_

My attention was drawn back to the conversation as Maka addressed Castiel and Raven. "Say, how are you two doing with matching your soul Wavelengths?"

Castiel looked briefly at Raven and then shrugged. "Well, Raven and I are doing pretty well. But the over achievers over there," he said, pointing to Lys and I. "Had it down in a month."

I grinned at the rest of the group while I noticed that Lys had shy smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

Soul gave the two of us an approving look. "Whoa, I'm pretty sure that's quicker than when Maka and I first started. That's pretty cool Aria." He said giving me a smile that made my stomach do a flip.

The pink tint returned to my cheeks as I smiled back. "Heh, thanks Soul." I said scratching the back of my head.

Lysander spoke up then, seeming to change the subject again. "How long did it take you two?" he inquired, gesturing to Soul and Maka.

Maka put her index finger to her chin in thought. "Almost three months if I can remember right." Her eyes then widened slightly as she made a fist with her right hand and hit it onto her opened left palm in realization. "Oh yeah, we wanted to ask you guys something."

Castiel raised his eyebrow and looked at her curiously. "Hmm? What is it?" he asked.

"Do you guys want to come to the opening of a new restaurant in Death City with us? We've already invited Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star and Tsubaki." Soul said with a hopeful smile.

The four of us looked at each other in question.

I shrugged. "Lys and I don't have anything after school, but Cas has lessons with Stein, Although he's probably going to skip again." I stated.

Castiel huffed and crossed his arms. "You bet I am, I'm _not_being left alone with that guy."

We all laughed and agreed with him. Stein was and intelligent and talented Meister, but he could be a little more than creepy.

Completely out of nowhere, a huge cloud of smoke appeared in the center of our group, blocking my vision. Covering my mouth to keep from inhaling the smoke, I heard an annoyingly familiar voice.

"Yahoo!" said the voice as the smoke began to clear. "The amazing assassin Black Star is here!" he said as the last of the smoke was drawn toward Black Star's right side, revealing a flustered Tsubaki.

"Black Star, I told you that was a bad idea!" she says worriedly as Kid, Liz and Patty follow in behind the two.

Black Star grins at this. "Awe, don't worry about it Tsubaki, that was one of my greatest performances yet!" he then turns his attention to the rest of the group. "Hey guys!" he says as he slings his arms around Soul and Maka's necks. "Did 'ya miss me? Well no worries, the awesome Black Star is here!"

Soul, ignoring Black Star's arrogance, looks over at him and grins. "'Sup Black Star."

Maka, who was more affected by Black Star's sudden appearance, looks over at him and sighs, slightly aggravated. "Yes, hello Black Star. Now then could you please get off?" she says as she shakes off his arm.

"Aw, Maka's not in a good mood." Black Star pouts momentarily but then perks back up. "Well, nothing an hour of hanging out with an awesome guy like me can't fix." He says as a huge grin spreads across his face.

Kid, who was quietly observing the conversation suddenly broke in, "Black Star, not everything can be fixed with you just _being_there." He said simply.

At this, Black Star seemed genuinely perplexed. "Well whad'ya mean? I'm the great Black Star!" he exclaims.

The rest of the group observed the two as they began to bicker with an air that said, _'Are you freaking kidding me?'_, while Tsubaki attempted to calm down Black Star.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lys lean down so that he was closer to my height. I felt his warm breath on my ear as he whispered, "Are those two always like this?" he asked, amused.

I supressed a laugh as turned to whisper back. "Well, they are most of the time, but you get used to it."

Out of nowhere, Iliana, a girl who had shoulder length midnight hair with two strands of dyed silver running through her bangs and stormy grey eyes that were oddly similar to Castiel's, ran up to us with an energetic smile curving her pouty lips. "Hey Maka, Soul!" she greeted the two as she stood beside Maka.

Maka pulled her attention away from Kid and Black Star and turned to look at Iliana. "Hmm?" she murmured, curious at the girl's sudden appearance.

Soul seemed equally surprised at Iliana's arrival, as he raised one of his eyebrows in question. "What is it Iliana." He inquired.

Iliana, who was still panting slightly from her sprint towards our group, took a deep breath before answering. "Have you guys seen Hiro? I can't seem to find him anywhere."

Soul shook his head slightly. "No, not since you guys got back from your mission yesterday." He stated.

With a look of slight disappointment at not being able to find her Meister, Iliana sighed heavily. "Ah, shiz nip." She said, then looked over at me and grinned. "Oh, hey Aria, long time no see."

Returning her smile I said, "Yeah, it has been a while. You left a week before I did."

"Oh yeah, how did your mission go? I heard you went to Sweet Amoris." She asked, cocking her head to one side.

"It went great. In fact, I'd like to introduce to you my new Weapon partner, Lysander." I said, gesturing to where Lys standing silently beside me.

As Iliana caught sight of Lysander I saw recognition flit through her eyes and a huge smile form on her lips. "'Sup Lys? Good to see you again. It's been almost a year, hasn't it?" she greeted him.

Lysander nodded, a friendly smile of his own breaking the emotionless mask he'd been wearing while he'd been looking at Soul. "It's good to see you too, Iliana. We had been wondering where you had moved to. Turns out it was here, huh?"

"By 'we', do you mean Cherry-Top?" Iliana said as she crossed her arms with a smirk of her face.  
At the sound of the nickname that was obviously meant for him, Castiel came to stand beside Lys and crossed his arms defensively. "Hey! Who said you could call me that?!" he exclaimed as Raven erupted in a fit of giggles, which he promptly ignored.

Iliana's smirk became more prominent as she caught sight of Castiel. "Heh, speak of the devil and he shall appear. You never said that I _couldn't_call you that" she teased.

In the background of this reunion, Tsubaki was cheering up an ignored and crestfallen Black Star, while the rest of us were left confused as to how these three knew each other.

Putting an end to the wondering, Maka quietly cleared her throat to draw back Iliana's attention. "You three know each other?" she said, the statement sounding more like a question.

Iliana smiled and nodded. "Mm-hm, truth be told, I'm Cherry-Top's cousin. I know, hard to believe since we don't act alike."

Soul raised an eyebrow in mild disbelief. "True, but you two do look somewhat alike. Well, except for the hair."

With a smile still placed on her lips. Iliana shook her head slightly as she spoke. "Our hair is the same colour, Cas just decided to dye it cherry red."

"So your hair is dyed that colour?" Kid inquired.

Irritated, Castiel folded his arms across his chest. "Yes, it is. Now can we please change the subject to something other than my hair colour?"

Nodding, Lys seemed to be in agreement with Castiel. "Yes, I would like to know why you're here in the first place Iliana."

Iliana raised her eyebrows at Lys as if the answer was obvious to anyone but him. "Well, I'm a Weapon, that's why." She said, resembling Castiel, only toned down.

Rolling his eyes at his cousin, Castiel said, "Same old Iliana, blunt and to the point."

Instead of taking offense to this, Iliana simply smirked and said, "Why yes, yes I am, thank you for noticing."

With curiosity sparking in his mismatched eyes, Lysander voiced the question the rest of us had been pondering. "What's your Weapon form?" he asked.

"It's a Scottish Claymore." Iliana answered proudly.

Castiel raised one eyebrow in confusion. "A what?" he questioned.

Kid's voice took on a sort of teacher-like quality as he explained to Castiel. "It's a type of double sided long-sword, they're fairly large and heavy." He clarified.

Lys and Cas looked at each other strangely, then in unison they said, "Ookaaay…"

Breaking through the semi-awkward atmosphere, Iliana stepped forward. "I can show you guys if you want." She interjected, earning everyone's immediate attention.

Lysander and Castiel looked at each other and shrugged, Castiel saying, "I don't see why not."

Iliana looked simply delighted. "Sweet!" she exclaimed.

Very soon after that a reddish tinged light engulfed her slender form, quickly fading away to reveal a five foot long sword, whose tip was shoved into the ground in order to stay upright, as if it had been plunged into the stone of the courtyard by a Meister. The hilt was metal that was almost black, but not quite, at the top laid three crimson jewels and ornate Celtic knot designs curving around them. The blade, in contrast to the colour of the hilt, was a glossy light silver, which also had the same graceful designs as the hilt.

Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of Iliana's Weapon form, even Castiel's, which surprised me. "Whoa." He mumbled in awe.

Lys, his face holding equal amounts of awe barely even blinked. "That's…" he started but then trailed off, seeming to be unable to find the words.

"Awesome!" Castiel finished for his speechless friend.

Kid eyes seem to sparkle and a look of extreme admiration took over his features. "So much symmetry…" he sighed.

Just then the red-tinged light appeared again as Iliana returned to her human form, a smirk playing on her lips. "So? What do you guys think?" she inquired

Castiel raised his eyebrows. "what did I think?" he asked rhetorically, walking over to Iliana and shaking her by her shoulders. "that was the most awesome Weapon I've ever seen!" he exclaimed.

A look of mock betrayal took over both Lys and Raven's faces as the both said, "Hey!"

Castiel looked over at them with an incredulous look, still shaking Iliana. "What? Shes my cousin, I can say that if I want to."

Iliana, who was starting to look more than a little dizzy, spoke up. "Ugh, can't… see. Getting headache… please stop…" she managed to mumble.

Castiel looked as if he had forgotten he was still shaking her and immediately let go. "Oops, sorry" he said as she took a tipsy step forward.

Iliana was holding her head as she spoke. "Nuuu~ I know I'll have a headache after this."

Changing the subject, Lys asked, "When you first ran up to us, I heard you say something about someone named Hiro, who's that?"

Iliana shrugged. "Hiro is my Meister. He's also the only oe who was able to tolerate 'He Who Shall Not Be Named'." She explained.

Even though '_His_' name hadn't actually been mentioned, Black Star's and Kid's faces immediately squidged up, they're eyes narrowing as their mouths formed thin lines.

Another look of confusion passed over Castiel's face. "Huh? Who are you talking about?"

Shaking her head Iliana simply said, "I'll tell you some other time since I don't want him showing up." She told him, heaving a sigh.

Soul nodded in agreement. "No one wants him showing up here, trust me." he said.

A vehement shiver shuttered through Maka's petite frame. "Lame, so lame."

Feeling my annoyance start to rise at the subject of the conversation, I said, "And so useless most of the time."

Castiel's own annoyance seemed to be seeping out. "Who are you guys talking about!?"

Iliana rolled her eyes in exasperation, "I said I would tell you later!" she said, which seemed to instigate a mini-war between her and Castiel.

Maka and I looked at the two with surprise, Castiel; I could see getting mad over this, but Iliana? I always figured she was mild-tempered.

"Are they always like this?" Maka and I asked in unison.

Sighing and rubbing his forehead, Lys said, "Only sometimes, but it can last for quite a while."

Keeping at a safe distance from the two, soul asked, "What makes them stop?"

"Only when-" Lys started but was cut off when Iliana let out a cry of victory.

"Hiya!" Iliana shouted as she pinned Cas on his stomach and sat on his back.

Lysander sighed once again. "When that happens."

"Gaah! Get the hell off! You're messing up my jacket." Castiel wheezes out, wriggling under Iliana's hold.

Iliana slowly stood up then helped Castiel off the ground. "Now then," she said smugly. "I shall tell you who we were talking about later."

Black Star let out a long whistle, showing he'd been impressed. "Whoa, you pulled a good defense move" he said patting Iliana on the back.

"Eh, hehe" Iliana let out an awkward laugh while rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, when I still lived in Sweet Amoris, I took some self defense classes. Now I only seem to use it on Death Scythe."

Maka sighed, and put on an apologetic smile. "Yeah sorry about my dad."

Iliana shrugged, not truly bothered. "Meh, it's okay"  
Out of nowhere, Stein rolled up in his office chair and put a hand on Iliana's shoulder. "Ah, there you are Iliana; I've been looking for you."

Iliana's eyes widened as she caught sight of Dr. Stein. "A shii-!" she began but then quickly ran off as if her life depended on it with a quick, "See you guys!" and then started to make her way to the school building.

"Hey, Iliana!" Maka stopped her in her tracks.

Iliana turned around and replied, "Yeah?"

"We're all going to the opening of that new restaurant in town, do you and Hiro want to join?" Maka asked, having to shout because Iliana was almost to the academy huge black doors.

Iliana nodded excitedly. "Sure!" she agreed but then bolted when she saw Stein making his way over to her.

Castiel snorted at the sight of his cousin running from Stein. "I see I'm not the only one who's afraid of that guy."

Just then Stein appeared behind Castiel's shoulder. "I'm right here you know." he said, his left eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

Castiel's eyes widened and he jumped in surprise. "Shit!" he curses then attempts to take off in the same direction as Iliana, but was stopped as Stein grabbed him by the collar.

"Hold on, you can't run away yet, I need to tell you something." Stein said as Cas tried futilely to escape from his grasp.

Cas swallowed, nervous as to what the professor had to say. "Um, y-yes?"

Stein sighed, "Calm down, I'm not going to dissect you or anything. Yet…" Stein said, grinning devilishly.

Castiel paled at this. "W-what!?"

Stein then broke out into a fit of laughter, clutching at his sides with his free hand. "Kidding!" he said as more laughter took over. After a few moments of Castiel glaring at him, Stein managed to calm down enough to speak. "Lord Death has asked me to meet him later, so I won't be able to train you after school." Stein explained.

Curious, I raised my eyebrow at Stein and leaned in to whisper, "Is it about, well, what I told him about the er, information I received from that witch?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Stein merely nodded and let go of Castiel's collar, then sat back down on his rolling desk chair and rolled away.

Fortunately, during Stein's Conversation with Castel, Black Star managed to draw the rest of our group away from us, meaning no one had heard my question.

From beside me I heard Castiel sigh in relief. "Why was he so interested in Iliana?" he mused to himself aloud.

Kid walked up to Cas and explained. "She has this power that is rare, and so Stein wants to experiment to see how it works."

This was new. "Huh? What power? She's never told me." I asked, growing curious.

Soul came to stand beside. "Yeah, we haven't heard of this before." He stated his own curiosity showing.

Black Star popped up beside Soul, Tsubaki taking the place at his side. "Same here." Black Star said folding his hands behind his head.

"We have!" patty exclaimed in her usual cheery voice.

Liz put a hand on her sister's shoulder, keeping her from bouncing up and down. "Yeah, but it was meant to be a secret. Way to go Kid, maybe those stripes of yours are affecting you." Liz said causing Kid to have another melt down.

Falling to the ground and burying his face in his arm, Kid looked devastated. "You're right! I'm nothing but garbage! Asymmetrical garbage! I shouldn't even be alive, I'm so disgusting! I can't even keep a simple secret asked by my father! And now…"

My attention was drawn away from Kid's 'episode' when Soul nudged my shoulder to get my attention. I looked at him curiously and then saw that Maka, Tsubaki and Black Star were quietly walking away.

"Well, we're taking off; tell me what I missed later, alright?" Soul said before planting a kiss on my cheek and then bolting off to catch up with the others.

I was almost certain my face has turned scarlet but I was brought back to reality when I heard Liz attempting to calm down Kid.

Liz held up her hand, palms outward, as if shielding herself from Kid tantrum. "Whoa Kid calm down! What I said, it just came out! And that not a simple secrete anyways!"

Patty came up and patted her Meister on the back encouragingly. "Yeah kid, it's okay. Besides, the red head over there is her cousin right? Shouldn't telling at least him be okay?"

Kid sniffled and looked up at his partners with teary eyes and a wary expression. "R-really? You're being honest?" he asked hopefully.

Liz nodded and smiled in encouragement. "Of course Kid."

Patty made sounds of agreement and helped Kid off the ground. "Yeah, when you're upset, nothings really as fun."

Kid straightened himself out and squared his shoulders. "you're right, telling Castiel should be okay, but I should ask father if it's okay to tell the others first."

I sighed, my eyebrow twitching in slight annoyance. "'The others' are still here you know? well, Lys, Cas, raven and I are still here, Maka and Soul have already left to get ready for later, Soul asked me to tell hm what they missed when we meet up again."

Patty knitted her eyebrows together and pouted. "Aw, they left already? Phoo!" she said.

Liz looked confused as she asked, "Wait, where'd Tsubaki and Black Star go?"

I shrugged. "They left with Soul and Maka."

"That aside, what's this secret about my cousin?" Castiel inquired as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll tell you, but first Aria, Lysander and Raven have to leave." Kid said, looking at the three of us with an apologetic smile.

Raven shrugged. "Alright, alright I got it. Demon needs to go for a walk anyway. See you guys later!" she said as she started off in the direction of the apartment complex.

I sighed, kind of frustrated with the situation but not wanting to pry, either. "Well, I can see we're not needed here." I said, holding my hand out to Lys. "Ready to go?" I said ginning.

Lysander took my hand and smiled back. "Lead the way."

And so, still holding hands, which for some reason, had become normal for the two of us, Lys and I headed home to get ready for dinner.

-Castiel's POV-

I turned to Kid after watching Lysander and Aria walk away, noticing that they were still holding hands. _Hmmm… interesting_. "So? What's this power of Iliana's that has to be kept a secret?"

Kid cleared his throat and began explaining. "You're familiar, or at least know, about portals and how they're used, correct?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, isn't it like a black hole that you can walk through and it takes you to another location?"

Liz smirked at my answer, as if I'd answered with something stupid. "That's the common thought when someone think of portals." She said, not confirming whether or not I was right.

Kid sighed, giving Liz a look telling her to back off. She just shrugged and waved it off. Kid turned back to me. "In this case, it's different."

I raised one eyebrow in question. "Are you saying that my cousin's power has something to do with portals? And what do you mean it's different?"

Kid nodded in confirmation. "She does have this special power, what different though, is that she can open a portal to a specific location based on where she, or someone else, is imagining to go."

I knitted my eyebrows together as I processed this. "Okay, she can take people where they want to go. Why is this kept a secret though? It could be useful."

Patty was the one who answered her face unusually serious. "Yeah, but not just useful to the DWMA"

Liz nodded and continued her sister's explanation. " Also, when she's going somewhere another person is imagining, she actually has to get the image of the place from that person's memory."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?"_"Okay, slightly confused, but continue." I said with one eyebrow raised.

Kid picked up where Liz had left off. "Yes, her power is useful to the academy, but if someone with evil intentions knew about her power, not only would she be in danger, but so would a lot of other people."

_**Now**__ It's starting to make sense._"Alright, I can see where that would be a reason for keeping this a secret. But what about what Liz said, about using that person's memory?" I asked.

"If she needs to go somewhere specific, and she's never been, she has to get the location of that place from someone who knows the location. But to do this, she actually needs to have the memory, or she won't be able to open a portal there." Kid clarified.

Feeling something prick at my subconscious, I left all joking and sarcasm out of my voice as I spoke. "What do you mean?" I asked, putting on a serious tone.

Kid's voice matched my own, his face looking grave. "When she takes the location from someone, they lose that memory because it was given to Iliana."

I felt my eyes widen at this. "You mean they have no memory of the place at all?!" I exclaimed.

Liz shook her head. "No, they still have the memory of what happened and why they were there." She explained, much to my relief.

Kid drew my attention back to him as he said, "They just can't remember how to get there or what the place looked like" he added.

Just then something clicked. "Oh. Wait, if it's so rare like you said, how do you know so much about it? Or, more importantly, how can she control the power if no one is there to train her?" I asked, incredulous.

"Did you notice that pendant on the necklace she had?" Liz asked.

I nodded. "Yeah?"

Patty spoke up then, "That helps her control it." She clarified.

_Well, that's one thing less to wonder about, but still…_"How did she get it?"

Kid shrugged. "Lord Death, my father, gave it to her. It was made after the first being with her type of power was found and realized. We know about this power because my father would always bring the person to the DWMA to hone their abilities." He said in his teacher-like voice.

"Okay, I think I've got it." I started, attempting to be humorous. "That would explain why she ran like the gates of Hell opened up when she saw Stein." I said with a smirk.

Liz raised her eyebrow. "Please, everyone runs from him." She said with a small smirk of her own.

Just then, patty yawned dramatically. "Well, this conversation was boring." She said with a tired- looking expression. "Can we go get ready now, Kid?" she asked her Meister with a grin.

Kid smiled and nodded. "Yes, I still need to talk to my father. You should get ready also, Castiel." He told me as him and his Weapons turned to leave.

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah I'm going." I said as I folded my hands behind my head and walked off.

_Jesus Cuz, why don't you tell me these things?_


	17. Chapter 15: Truth and Confessions

'Nakama' Definition: Japanese; comrades or friends. Sometimes used by a protagonist to specifically describe those who fight alongside them, or friends in general.

Lys and I entered our apartment soon after we left Castiel and Kid. _I hope we'll be able to learn about this ability Iliana has... I have to admit, it's starting to eat at me..._ I mused internally as I closed my bedroom door and began to get ready for dinner.

I'd picked out a black, silk ruffle corset skirt which stopped an inch or two above my knees. It was trimmed with white lace and had sapphire blue ribbons on each side, the lace up corset attached to it had similar ribbons holding it in place on my back. the corset stopped just below my chest, which was covered by a silky white strapless shirt, with silver buttons running up the middle. On my arms I wore detached sleeves that matched the skirt, in the sense that they were the same material and were trimmed by white lace, also embellished by sapphire ribbons on the end of the billowed sleeves. Around my neck I wore a simple black choker, along with black thigh highs and my pristine white Victorian boots. Lastly, I tied a long sapphire colored sash in a hug bow around my hips where my corset met my skirt, the large ribbon almost reaching the floor behind me.

With my hair tied up into my trademark twin tails, I opened my door and walked down the hallway to Lysander's room. "Hey, Lys? You Ready? Theres no rush but we should head out in the next little while." I said while standing infront of his closed door.

I heard light footsteps and soon enough Lysander opened his emerald green door (much like the color at his last house). He stood before me in a dark red tailcoat, paired with a black waist coat adorned with silver buttons, under which he wore a formal white dress shirt along with black slacks and dark, chocolaty brown boots. To top it all off, around his neck he wore a satin-y black cravat. As I stood admiring him in slight awe I noticed he was doing the same with me.

Willing the blush in my cheeks away, I cleared my throat before speaking, "U-um, Lys? You ready?" I asked, hating the stutter in my voice.

Lys shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, then looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite put my finger on... It wasn't anger... more like loss and... frustration. "Aria? I'm sorry, but we need to talk before we leave." he said then gestured for me to follow him into his room.

I turned around as Lys quietly closed the door and took a few steps in, stopping short three feet away. "What is it Lys? Is there something bothering you? If there is, you know you can talk to me if you need to." I encouraged, attempting to goad him into telling me what was making him so upset.

Lysander seemed to be in conflict with himself as he took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes, seeming to bring up all of his courage in order to convey his words to me. "Aria, I want to tell you something, and I need to you let me tell you everything I need to before you speak."

Growing curiouser by the second, I nodded. Lys smiled slightly before he began, but his expression turned serious as he spoke. "I know what happened between you and Soul." He started, and I felt panic pierce through me but remained silent. "I understand that you've known him for a long time and I know that you two are close, but I can't stand it. I-I've only known you for a short time, however whenever I look at you, I feel... whole. It's difficult to explain, but before you came into my life, I always felt as if there was a piece of me that was missing, that I was incomplete. When you showed up, that emptiness was filled and I was happy every moment I spent with you." Lysander looked at me with sad eyes and I knew what was coming next. I knew, yet I didn't stop it, I didn't want to. "When I see you with him, it hurts. It's tearing me apart, knowing that I'm losing without even putting up a fight. Thats why from now on, I _will_ fight, I won't just give you up to someone else. I want to learn more about you, experience new things and stand beside you. Aria, please, _please_ give me a chance to show you my feelings." Lysander finished with a tortured look on his features.

I couldn't stand it. I wanted to take all of his sadness, all of his pain. I launched myself at him, flinging my arms around his waist and burring my face in his chest. i felt his strong arms wrap tightly around my shoulders, one of Lysander's hands resting on my head. "Oh, Lys..." I sniffled, holding back tears.

"Aria..." Lysander murmured into my ear, his breath on my neck making me shiver.

"What the-!" Came a heart shatteringly familiar voice from behind us. I stepped out of Lysander's embrace to see Soul standing in the doorway, his expression a mixture of shock and outrage. I stepped around Lys and towards Soul, only to have him storm out of my apartment in anger, slamming the door behind him.

I turned to Lys, pleading with my eyes from him to understand. he simply nodded, knowing what I was going to do. Before I raced after Soul, I turned back around and placed a gentle kiss on Lysander's lips, making us both blush.

I bolted up to the rooftop, knowing where he'd be. I knew he wouldn't run from this kind of situation, that wasn't the kind of person he was. He simply thought it would be better for us to talk this out alone, rather than with and audience. As I had suspected, the roof is where I found him, he was pacing back and forth in frustration, but stopped when I neared him.

"Soul, before you say anything, listen." I said in a calm yet sure voice. "I know how you must be feeling right now. I know you're upset, but listen. Do you remember how I was when we were kids? How I wouldn't talk to anyone, or share my feelings with anyone?" He nodded, so I continued. "It's because I was a coward. I was afraid of letting other people near me. Afraid of losing everything I cared about again. Back then, I always thought that if I became close with anyone, it would only hurt that much more when I lost them. And you know what? I'm still a coward, because now, I'm afraid of losing you! Afraid, because I know tha do this, you'll be unhappy. And I don't want that!" I said, m voice rising as tears began to form in my eyes. "Soul, I've realized that I am unable to return your feelings, but only because I love you too much as one of my nakama!" I shouted, the tears suddenly making hot trails down my face as I felt my true emotions come to light.

Soul, who had remained silent through my explanation sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Well... if thats how you really feel, then theres really not much I can do about it. However," he started, coming close to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Since I'm one of your nakama then you have to promise we'll stay friends after this, none of that 'lets be friends but not talk ever again' crap other girls like to pull, got it?" he said, a huge grin settling onto his face.

His words left me so completely suffused with joy that I felt as if my heart might burst. "R-really?" I asked, my tears turning to ones of complete happiness.

Soul nodded and let his grin grow wider. "Really." he said as he lead back down to my apartment.

My tears had stopped by the time we walked through the door together, where Lysander was anxiously waiting for us. at first I thought Soul would be tensed but he seemed completely relaxed as he walked over to Lys and stuck of his hand with a smile. Lys took his hand with mild surprised but smiled back nonetheless.

"No hard feelings man?" Soul said, grinning with his pointed teeth.

Lysander seemed eager to agree as two shook hands. "Definetly."

_I will never take my nakama for granted... I will cherish them and stand by them for as long as I live... maybe even longer._


	18. Chapter 16: Dinner Parties & Nightmares

By the time the three of us had left the apartment building, it had begun to snow heavily. Thankfully, Castiel was driving us to the restaurant, so we wouldn't be stuck walking all the way there. Soul, Lysander and I piled into the backseat, with Raven in the passenger side.

"Soul? What are you doing here, I thought you and Maka were riding with Tsubaki and Black Star?" Raven asked with one of her ebony eyebrows raised.

Soul shrugged and said, "No biggie, I just had to talk with Aria before we left."

"Well, it's not a big deal anyway. Are you guys ready to go?" Castiel asked while starting the car.

The four of us all made sounds of affirmation, and Castiel pulled out of the parking lot and navigated the winding streets of Death City. Eventually, we made it to our destination and Cas drove around for what seemed to be _forever_, trying to find a parking space in the crowded lot.

"Dammit! Why are there so many people?" Castiel muttered as he shut off the engine.

"Well it _is_ the opening night, Cas. Theres bound to be a lot of people." I said as I was undoing my seatbelt.

"Hmph."Castiel grunted.

I stepped out of the car and saw that Lys was holding his hand out for me. I placed my hand in his and we walked slowly to the resturaunt's entrance, finding Maka, Iliana, Hiro, Kid, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and Black Star waiting for the five of us not too far from the doors.

"Hey guys!" I said with a smile while the others looked at my hand, twined together with Lysander's and gave the two of us sly looks but said nothing. Well, everybody but Patty, that is.

"Ooooooh! A-ri-a-Chaaan~!" Patty called, with and excited, yet also mischievous glint in her blue eyes. "Are you going out with Lysander!?"

I felt my face heat instantly. "Well, I-"

"Oh! You are! look at your face!" she said, giggling and pointing to the blush on my cheeks, which I was certain was now a bright scarlet.

"Patty!" I wailed while the others laughed and Lys squeezed my hand reasuringly.

"Hehe! Aria and Lysander sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes..." Patty cheered while I sighed and decided to tune her out.

"I hope they pick up that phone," Iliana suddenly said, confusing the h*ll out of me before she continued , "Because I freaking called it!" She exclaimed with a burst of laughter. "I _knew_ you two would end up together! Trust me, I'm a fairly good judge of character."

Thankfully, Lysander saved me from my increasing embarrassment . "Really now, are you sure about that? When we were kids you said Nathaniel would always be a bully, but look how that turned out." he said, laughing.

Iliana crossed her arms and and pouted. "That's only because Amber absorbed all of his evil in to her!" she claimed.

"Who is Amber?" Maka asked, looking confused.

I felt my face form into a pout of my own as I answered, "The devil."

Iliana, Lys and Cas all chuckled at my joke, whereas everybody else looked even more confused.

"That seems like an accurate description." Castiel commented with a smirk.

"Allow me to explain," Lysander began, speaking to our friends that hadn't gone to Sweet Amoris. "Amber is a student that went to our previous school and, like Aria said, she is indeed, the devil."

"Anyhow, lets go in, I'm starving." Iliana said.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and we all made our way inside, where a hostess led us to a table seated for thirteen. I took my seat beside Lysander as a waitress came and stood next to our table.

The young brunette smiled cheerfully and said, "Hello, I'm Nickii, and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start any of you guys off with something to drink?"

"I'll have beer!" Black Star yelled out before Maka smacked him upside the head and pulled him back into his seat.

"You're underage, stupid!" Maka hissed to Black Star." He'll have a Coke." she said to the waitress who looked at the two of them strangely before plastering the smile onto her face once again.

"Alright, anyone else?" the waitress asked, and the rest of us gave her our orders before she left to get our drinks.

Before the rest of us could break into chatter, Kid cleared his throat to gather our attention."So then, everyone, I spoke to Iliana and also to my father, and since they both find you all to be trustworthy, they've agreed to let you in on the details of Iliana's _ability_." He announced, keeping his voice low enough so that on we could hear. "However, not here, and not tonight. Tonight, we enjoy ourselves."

Just then the waitress came back with our drinks, and left soon after. Our group broke into two or three conversations, but the one between Iliana, Hiro and Castiel caught my interest the most.

"Hiro, was it? I'm Iliana's cousin, Castiel. She told me some thing interesting about you." Castiel said with a sly smirk.

Hiro, being slightly oblivious to Cas' mischievous look, appeared merely curious. "Really? Like what?" he asked.

I bit back a laugh, knowing exactly what Castiel was planning.

"She said that you were the only one who was able to tolerate 'He Who Shall Not Be Named', but she never told me who it was. Mind filling me in?" Castiel said, his voice sounding devious.

"Cas, you can't-" Iliana began.

Suddenly Hiro's face squidged up much like Black Star and Kid's faces had when _you know who_ was last mentioned. "Eugh, you mean," he shuttered. "Excalibur."

At the mention of the Holy Sword's name, all the conversations at our table were cut of, replaced by an uncomfortable silence.

Lys broke that silence when he asked, "Excalibur, you mean the legendary sword Excalibur?"

Feeling a sour look on my face, I nodded. "Yup, thats the one, though he's not as _legendary_ as you might think." I confirmed, shivering at the thought of the squishy-looking white creature.

"Heh, well enough about that. So Cas, have you asked out Raven yet?" Iliana asked, attempting to change the subject.

Raven Blushed and looked down at her menu.

Castiel's face was nearly as crimson as his hair, "W-what!? I-I'm-" He sputtered looking for a comeback but finding none.

Iliana smirked to herself, satisfied with her diversion.

Our evening continued at the same steady pace, and surprisingly enough Black Star didn't cause a scene. We ordered our meals and I felt ravenous by the time they arrived. The friendly conversations were halted for that moment as we ate, and continued again soon after. By the time we left it was ten thirty, and I had to fight to keep my eyes open on the car ride home, although eventually my eyes shut as I rested my head on Lysander's shoulder.

I woke to a cold breeze and someone gently shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Lys holding the car door open with one hand, his other still resting on my shoulder.

Lys smiled. "Come on, lets get you inside." he said softly.

I nodded and unbuckled my seat belt, stepping out of the car into the cold night. Unlucky for me, I was a total genius and decided not to wear a coat. I shivered and suddenly felt Lys wrap his arm around my shoulders as he walked me into the apartment. We said our goodbyes to Cas and Raven as we passed their room, and quickly entered ours. Noticing that I couldn't stay awake much longer, Lysander gave me a kiss before heading to his room.

I closed my bedroom door and quickly changed into a purple t-shirt and black pajama shorts. I hit my bed with a _thud_ and sighed as I got under my fluffy blue duvet. Closing my eyes, I smiled and quickly drifted to sleep.

****

_I was walking around Death City, with no particular destination in mind when the sky began to darken. At first I assumed it was the night sky, but when I looked up, crimson clouds had filled the sky, making it impossible to tell the time of day. Taking my gaze away from the blood colored sky, I noticed that the busy streets that were usually crowded with people were now empty._

_"You're back." Said an achingly familiar voice._

_I turned around, feeling my heart break at seeing her face again. "Riko." I whispered._

_Sitting atop a fairly large street sign, Riko looked up from the back flame she cradled in her hand to gaze blankly at me. "Did you expect to see someone else?"_

_Ignoring her newfound attitude, I said, "These aren't just dreams, are they? This is the real you, isn't it?"_

_Surprising me, Riko smiled. However this wasn't the smile I remembered, this one was twisted. "Very good. How did you know?"_

_"Your soul Wavelength, I can sense it." I answered._

_Her smile fell. "You can sense it? How?"_

_I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion. "What do you mean 'how'? I used Soul Perception."_

_Riko set a cold glared on me. "Impossible. I had a witch cast Soul Protect on me." she said,inspecting me curiously. "How very interesting."_

_"What's interesting?" I asked, but Riko seemed to ignore my question._

_"Aria, I did not come to chat with you. I came with a proposal." She stated._

_"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling wary about what she had to offer._

_"Come with me." Riko said, holding out a hand for me._

_I took a step backwards. "Go... with you? I don't understand."_

_"It is simple. Come with me, fall to Madness. Become my Meister again, become my friend again." Riko explained, taking a step closer._

_I shook my head vehemently. "No! I could never fall to Madness!" I shouted._

_Riko raised an eyebrow at me. "No? Well then," she began, holding her outstretched hand to the side. Smoke began to pour from her fingertips, and soon a shape started to take form within the smoke. Suddenly, Riko was holding Lysander by the back of his neck, and her free arm, which had taken the form of a scythe blade, was inches away from Lysander's throat. "How about now?" she continued, a twisted smirk contorting her features._

_"Lysander!" I screamed, "Let him go, Riko! He doesn't have anything to do with this!"_

_Attempting to pry away Riko's hand, Lysander managed to hiss out, "H-help...Aria..."_

_"Doesn't have anything to do with this, you say? Liar! You replaced me with this whelp! He's the one that came between us!" Riko screeched, finally losing her cold facade._

_"Riko, stop! Please!" I sobbed, feeling hot tears run down my cheeks._

_"No! I'm going to end this!" my fallen friend shouted._

_ Riko drew the her scythe blade back. I ran towards her, but my effort was futile. Riko swung her blade forwards-_

"NO!" I screamed, and I suddenly felt someone shaking me.

"Aria! Wake up!" a silky voice commanded.

I pryed my eyes open to meet Lysander's panicked mismatched gaze. "L-lys?" I whispered hesitantly. I blinked and rubbed my eyes,_ I'm awake... right, a dream, it was a dream... sort of..._ I looked back at Lysander before flinging my arms around his waist and burying my face into his chest while I sobbed in relief.

After a stunned moment, Lys wrapped his arms around me and rubbed circles on my back. "Shhh... You're alright, It was only a dream." he whispered soothingly before kissing my forehead. Lys and I stayed that way for a while after my sobs quieted. Eventually though, he pulled backed and placed his hand against my cheek. "It's late, you need sleep." he said, then kissed me on the forehead once again before standing up. "Goodnight."

I before he got too far away, I quickly reached out and caught his wrist, pulling him to a stop. "C-could you...stay with me?" I mumbled while looking at my lap.

"Of course." Lysander said.

I looked up at him to see him smiling softly. I gave my own little smile and scooted over on my bed to make room for him. Lys lay down beside me and pulled me into his arms, cradling my head to his chest.

I looked into Lysander's green-gold gaze and slowly closed the space between us and planting a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back and whispering, "Goodnight, Lys."

"Goodnight, Aria."


	19. Chapter 17: Kishin Revealed

-Aria's POV-

"So, who was it that we're looking for?" Lysander asked me as we made our way through the small town where we'd been sent for our latest mission.

"We're searching for a Demi-Kishin, who has come to be known as 'Faustus' by the people in town." I stated, narrowing my eyes at the map I was holding, and attempting to make sense of where it was we were headed. "Gaah! I give up!" I shouted, causing the people on the street to turn our way.

Lys only chuckled happily and reached for the map, saying, "Perhaps I should take a look? I don't have the best sense of direction, but it's worth a shot."

I sighed and handed him the slightly crumpled paper. "Good luck, I can't make any sense of it."

Lysander studied the map for a brief moment before lacing his fingers through mine and leading me down the street, where we turned left down a small alleyway. _H-how...?_ I mentally stuttered, my thoughts trailing off as we came to our destination.

"Ah here we are." Lysander said, folding the map and slipping it into the pocket of his coat.

Before us stood what was left of a rather large house, though time had weathered away the soft blue paint to a muted gray. On the top floor I could see two windows on either side of a small balcony, both the windows and door to the balcony had been boarded up with rotting planks. Lys and I cautiously picked our way to the front door, where the remnants of light from the fading sunset were cut off by the shade on the porch.

Before opening the door and stepping into what was presumed to be Faustus' hide out, I turned to Lysander and nodded, signaling for him to change into his Weapon form. Lysander's form began to glow with a familiar soft green light, and soon the staff of his scythe took form and dropped into my waiting hands. Seconds after his blade appeared, the deadly edge glinting menacingly in the dying sunlight.

"Ready?" Lys asked, his voice being emitted from the dangerous-looking scythe.

Nodding, I murmured, "Lets go." before kicking the door in, sending splinters of wood flying into the darkness of the abandoned home. I scanned the front room, but seeming to find nothing but toppled furniture, rotted floor boards, and broken glass. I moved from room to room, checking every corner of the house until only one room remained. Lys and I entered the last bedroom on the top floor where I had seen the door to the balcony. There, in the far left corner on the room, I saw two astoundingly bright white eyes, peering at the two of us from the darkness.

"Little giiirl..." the creature hissed. "Is there something... you want... something... you wish for...?"

I lowered Lysander's blade in front of me in a defensive stance. "Quit hiding, you coward. Come out and fight."

The being in the corner stepped forwards, close enough for me to see fangs that stretched downwards, past the length of it's sickly pale chin. The creature had grimy, blackened claws, and every now and then, I could see a scaly tail that swished back and forth in anticipation of the coming fight. It was repulsive, the mere sight of it wanting to make me retch.

"Yesss... _fiiight_!" Faustus screeched before lunging at me, claws poised and fangs bared.

_No good, there isn't enough room to fight in here!_ I thought just as I dodged Faustus' ragged claws and dashed for the balcony door, breaking through the planks and glass. Once I was on the balcony, I bent my knees slightly and pushed upwards, the force sending me up into the air. I landed gracefully on the roof, where I knew the Demi-Kishin would follow.

"Giiirl... yesss...what do you wiiish for? What do you desiiire...?" Faustus said, cocking his head to the side.

"Stop talking." I ordered the creature, my voice turning cold as ice.

"Hehehe..." Faustus snickered.

With enough space to swing Lysander's scythe freely, I knew I could easily win this fight. I charged towards Faustus, catching him in the space where the blade connected with the staff. The second Lysander's blade pierced Faustus, a blinding light shone where the scythe had slashed his chest as his body turned to ash, leaving only a glowing red, ball-shaped soul behind.

"That went faster than expected." Lys commented as he reached for the kishin soul, having already turned back to his human form.

I nodded, taking his hand in mine while Lys swallowed the red soul, which would be our forty seventh out of the ninety nine we needed to collect. "Hmmm, true, we should-" I began, before a large black flame flew past us and crashed into the ground behind the abandoned house.

Lysander was in his Weapon form in an instant, and the two of us dropped quickly from the rooftop to the ground below. Behind the run-down house, was a fairly large field covered in untouched snow. At least, it _was_ untouched, until the mass of black flame made a small crater, exposing the frozen soil underneath the frosty blanket. The light from the sun had been extinguished, replaced by the glowing light from the ever-smiling moon. Lys and I stood still before the flame, watching and waiting for an enemy to emerge.

As the flames began to dissipate, the first thing I saw was a pale golden color behind the dark light of the fire. Soon the flames became smaller and smaller, revealing the gold I saw to be a rush of pale golden hair. I felt my stomach drop to my toes as I recognized the figure before me. Riko looked the same as she had in my dreams, the bloody red coat, the emotionless black eyes, and the same cold stare that gave me chills.

"N-no..." I whispered, attempting in vain to keep the stutter out of my voice.

"Aria? What is it? Your soul wavelength seems restless." Lysander spoke in a concerned voice.

I shook my head back and forth as I felt tears well up. "It can't be. Not here, not now..." I murmured.

Just then Riko lifted her gazed to the two of us, seeming as if she'd only just noticed our presence.

"Aria? Do... do you know her?" Lys asked softly.

I nodded, a stray tear slipping down my cheek. "Th-that girl... is Riko."

Suddenly Riko's voice cut through our conversation, ringing clear across the small field. "You know, it's rude to talk about people as if they aren't there." she said in an almost bored tone.

I stiffened. "What are you doing here, Riko?" I shouted, readying myself to fight if the need arose.

"Oh, you have no need to worry, my business is not with you tonight." she said, looking to where the lights of the small town were brighter before switching her gaze back to me. "You know, places to go, souls to collect."

I stood rooted to the spot with my eyes wide. "You don't mean... you couldn't have..." I didn't know what was more unsettling, that she was collecting human souls, or that she could say those words with so little emotion.

Taking me by surprise, Riko smirked, which wasn't much better than her previous expression. "That's right. I've been slowly increasing my power, eating one human soul after the other." she said with a short laugh. "Now, I'm so very close, just a few steps away from casting away all of my fears and attaining true Madness!" with those last few words, Riko began to laugh manically, eyes wide and blank.

Lysander's voice seemed uneasy as he said, "Aria... does she mean...?"

"Yes. Riko is very close to becoming a Kishin, far more dangerous than the Demi-Kishins we've been up against." I clarified in a grim tone.

Lysander seemed to sigh in exasperation at my words. "You know what this means... don't you?"

I nodded, though I could feel the rest of my tears spill over, trailing hot and fast down my pale cheeks. "We have no choice, we have to bring her down here. If she succeeds in becoming a Kishin, the world will be overrun with insanity."

Riko, who had stopped her panicked laughter, turned and raised her eyebrows at me. "Oh? And how are you going to do that? Don't tell me you actually plan on fighting me with that poor excuse of a Weapon, do you?"

Ignoring her agitance, I stood tall and squared my shoulders. "Riko, I'm only going to give you one chance. Come back to the DWMA quietly, or I will be forced to silence you here and now." I said, relieved that my voice no longer trembled.

Riko grinned in twisted humor. "Come and get me! Stop me if you can, Aria!"

"I see, so that is your choice." I spoke softly, feeling my despair about to crush me under it's weight. But before I could give into my sadness and start bawling like a child, I took a deep breath, and raised Lysander's scythe. "Lys, even though Riko hasn't become a full Kishin, she's still much more powerful than the other Demi-Kishins. We won't be able to win unless we resonate our Soul Wavelengths."

I heard a quiet gasp come from the scythe I was wielding. "Are you sure? We've only managed to pull it off once, remember?" Lys questioned.

"I know, but it's the only chance we've got." I insisted.

Lysander sighed. "Alright, I'll trust your judgment on this."

I smirked, "You ready?"

"Yeah." Lys replied.

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to concentrate and I quickly found the source of Lysander's Wavelength. Snapping my eyes open, Lys and I both shouted in unison, "Let's go, Soul Resonance!" and with that, I felt our souls connect in a way we'd only achieved once before. However, this was different than last time. When Lys and I had last connected our souls to create an even larger Wavelength, we'd only managed to use the Witch Hunter. This was completely different, not to mention unexpected. The Wavelength we'd generated was immense, far beyond either of our expectations.

It was then that I'd realized what this was, and at that moment I shouted out, "Leviathan Hunter!"

Suddenly the blade of Lysander's scythe grew three times it's size, it's surface covered in ornate markings and emanating a dark glow. The double-sided edge on the opposite side of the blade was covered with the same patterns, and the spikes beside it were now connected by what looked like a spider-web pattern.

I had no idea where this sudden burst of power had come from, but I acted while it lasted. As I used all of my strength to charge towards Riko, I noticed that she was staring at us with wide, frantic eyes. what caught me off guard was that in contrast to her frightened eyes, her lips were tilted up in a victorious smile. When I was merely a few feet away from her, I drew Lysander's scythe back, preparing myself to-

Out of nowhere a huge column of black flames erupted where Riko was standing. Paying the disturbance no mind, I swung the scythe forward but missed just as a large, dense ball of the black flames engulfed Riko before hurling itself into the sky.

"Damn... she... ran away." I panted, suddenly feeling completely drained as Lys returned to his human form.

Just as I felt I was about to fall over, Lysander wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me up. "Don't worry, we'll have another chance. For now, we should report to the DWMA." he said.

Leaning into Lys' embrace, I nodded. "Mmhm... we... should." I mumbled, ready to pass out.

I could feel the rumbling of his chest as Lysander chuckled. "Let's get you back to the motel first. I'll report to Lord Death, you need rest."

I merely nodded, unable to argue. However we didn't move from our spots.

"Hey Aria?" Lys suddenly asked.

"Mhmm?" I hummed, looking into Lys' golden-green eyes.

Suddenly Lysander's soft lips were on mine, filling me with a warmth that made it easier to stand.

"I love you." Lys murmured against my lips.

I smiled softly back at him before placing another kiss on his lips.

"I love you,too."


End file.
